#And if that wasn’t enough chatot had to do it alone.

[fujii-draws]

Pt 2 (getting into more positives!!)

OKAY! Chatot rant in tags below! Read at your own discretion.

[super-famicom-star-inactive]

Friday Special #14

March 19th, 2021

Hello friendos, and welcome back to another Friday Special!

So with the recent announcement of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl for the Nintendo Switch as well as Pokemon Legends: Arceus, for this episode, we’ll be taking a look into the original titles of Pokemon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum for the DS and how they forever changed the Pokemon world.

The year is 2004.

The Pokemon movie Destiny Deoxys was just released in Japan and it’s the newest Pokemon movie to be released at that time. The Pokemon anime would  still be in Gen 3 (Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald) for a few more years. 

The film features a new Pokemon that was never seen before: Munchlax, who was the first revealed Pokemon for the next Generation, Gen 4 (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Heartgold, and Soulsilver).

Munchlax wasn’t the only Pokemon teased before Gen 4′s release, however.

That following year in 2005, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew was released and it prominently featured several new Pokemon to the gaming public such as Lucario, Weavile, Mime Jr., and Bonsly. This now was five new Pokemon revealed to the gaming public. 

Then came 2006, the crunch year.

Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea was released and it introduced more new Pokemon in the forms of Mantyke, Buizel, Chatot and the Legendary Manaphy. Also revealed that year were the first of Gen 4 Legendaries Dialga and Palkia for the new games’ box art. 

In the end, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl were officially released in Japan on September 28, 2006, in North America on April 22, 2007, in Australia on June 21, 2007 and in Europe on June 27, 2007. Diamond and Pearl would also be the very first Pokemon games to be released in South Korea on Valentine’s Day in 2008, setting the precedent for future Pokemon games to be released in the region. 

Diamond and Pearl were the first Pokemon games not only to begin a new Generation but also on a brand-new console, the Nintendo DS. In order to capitalize on the new system of choice and its capabilities, Diamond and Pearl were the very first Pokemon games to utilize 2.5D graphics (the effect can best be seen in various objects like buildings and the train in the Great Marsh in Pastoria City). Speaking of sprites, new and never-before-seen trainer sprites were added as well to ever-growing list of types of trainers. The list of Pokemon expanded as well, thanks to the addition of 107 new Pokemon exclusive to the Sinnoh region. 

As the introduction goes for both games, you are greeted by Professor Rowan and you have the choice of either going as Lucas or Dawn, though the player does have the option to create their name for their chosen character. Their rival, Barry, also can be named by the player like in previous versions. 

The game starts with your character watching a broadcast about Johto’s Lake of Rage and its elusive Red Gyarados. You then meet up at Barry’s house, who is also your best friend in addition to being your rival, and the pair go off to Lake Verity to search for Legendary Pokemon. There, you are greeted by Professor Rowan once more along with his assistant and they accidentally leave behind their briefcase and before the pair can retrieve it and return it properly, they are attacked by two random Starly and the player has to pick one out of three Pokemon to fight them with and succeed. Once the battle is concluded, the assistant comes back to retrieve the suitcase, aware of the Pokemon being used and leaves the pair with their new chosen companions. Back home, the player’s mother gives them a pair of Running Shoes to traverse faster across the land and instructs them to meet with the Pokemon Professor in Sandgem Town. Upon arriving, Prof. Rowan bestows upon you the Pokedex, sending you on a quest to retrieve data for the Pokedex of every Pokemon in Sinnoh. 

Thus, the Adventure begins.

In the games, you face Battles, attain Gym Badges and work your way to defeating the Elite Four as well as the Pokemon League Champion. Along the way, you have to defeat Team Galactic, an evil organization who want to erase the entire universe in order to create a new, more perfect universe, and they need the power of the Legendaries in order to accomplish this massive and frightening goal. By defeating them, your home region of Sinnoh, and the universe at large, will be safe. 

Some of the features to make a comeback in a newer fashion was the day/night system first introduced in Gen 2 (Gold, Silver, and Crystal), Pokemon Contests from Gen 3 (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Leaf-Green and Fire-Red) and even a new battle system which allowed for a more versatile set of moves for a Pokemon but ran into trouble with older fans as the attacks were now labeled as either physical or special instead of just by type alone. 

The pair of games were met with commercial and critical success upon release with particular praise being given to the soundtrack, story, the inclusion of Wi-Fi, the voice chat function. Unfortunately, it landed criticism with the graphics with IGN being quoted as saying “everything still has that Game Boy look to it” (Which in retrospect made the games more appealing as they still appeared timeless without looking too dated). Famitsu gave it a 35 out of 40. 

With this massive success, there was a growing need to continue the Generation.

In response, Game Freak created Pokemon Platinum, an enhanced version of the Diamond and Pearl. 

Pokemon Platinum was released in Japan and Taiwan on September 13, 2008, in North America on March 22, 2009, in Australia on May 14, 2009, and in South Korea on July 2, 2009. Like its predecessors, it also received high praise, and was both commercially and critically successful.

There were a few notable differences between the original Diamond and Pearl versions and Platinum:

On the TV in Twinleaf Town, instead of a special about the Red Gyarados, the special instead talks about Prof. Rowan’s arrival back to Sinnoh from Kanto. 

The outfits of the main characters change to be more suited to a colder environment.

Instead of recovering a suitcase in the forest and fighting Starly, you meet up with Prof. Rowan and receive your Pokemon at that time. 

The sprites of important Trainers (like Gym Leaders or the Pokemon League) have their own individual animations like the Pokemon do.

Instead of facing either Dialga/Palkia depending on the version, your Legendary Battle will be with Giratina instead and it will be down in the Distortion World (more on that in a moment).

Platinum also expanded on previously introduced features such as:

Allowing up to 20 people at one time in the Wi-Fi Plaza (it was only a few people before)

Allowing your starter Pokemon to be admitted into Amity Square in Hearthrome City (in Diamond and Pearl, only a select number of “cute” Pokemon were considered)

Players can now challenge other Trainers in certain Pokemon Centers (first game in the mainline series to do this)

Faster animations with HM Moves such as Surf and during Battles

to name a few.

In regards to new Pokemon, 59 Pokemon were added to the Sinnoh Pokedex, rounding the number of entries to 210, including Legendary Pokemon. Legendary Pokemon like Shaymin were also added and other Pokemon like Rotom were enhanced either with new abilities or new forms. 

So about that Distortion World bit from earlier...

For those unfamiliar, the Distortion World is only available in Platinum and it was how the player fought Giratina. The Distortion World level in particular was considered impressive at the time for the Pokemon community as it utilized 2.5D graphics that almost looked 3D.

How did they do this?

They allowed the character to move up walls in order to complete the current level as there were multiple levels. 

Here is a video of the entire Distortion World walkthrough (the video is a little gritty as it was published way back in January of 2009 and it’s the original Japanese version):

At this time, this was considered insane for Pokemon in 2008/9 and it was one of Platinum’s biggest selling points. Although it may look a little dated with today’s newer titles, this the was bridge that connected GBA-styled graphics to more modern 3D ones. 

So with that, Generation 4 was well underway and these games, as well as the ones that followed by the names of Heartgold and Soulsilver (a topic for another time), are still remembered fondly by fans to this day. 

Thoughts From The Head

When I first got into Pokemon, I got into Pearl, making me a Gen 4 kid. I have very fond memories playing this game with my friends back in elementary school as they either had Pearl like I did or Diamond. When Platinum dropped, it was the hottest game to get on DS and I remember everyone and their mother clamoring to get a copy of it. I never did because I was broke at the time, so I wound up having enough to get a copy of Soulsilver, which I just rediscovered the Pokewalker (remember those?). 

I remember the Distortion World bit like it was yesterday. A friend of mine had gotten far enough in the game to get to that point and I remember all of us crowding around behind him and glued to the screen as he traversed into this strange, new world. 

We were blown away to say the least. 

We also utilized the crap out of those Action Replay devices (which I used to max out both the Sinnoh and the International Pokedexes as well as the inventory), making the Champion Fight with Cynthia almost a breeze with the maxed out Rare Candies we had to boost the levels to Level 100 for the entire party. Now a couple friends of mine had managed to even hack the Platinum game to not get the special event Pokemon like Shaymin and Arceus without the special event in question, they were even able to clone Pokemon as well as steal other Trainers’ Pokemon outright with no issues (still not sure how they pulled those off). 

Thanks to the announcements of the Gen 4 remasters and a mutual of mine playing Pokemon Diamond for a YouTube stream via Desmune emulator, I rediscovered my Pearl game and now I’m currently playing my second run! As of this post, I am about to take on Fantine of Hearthrome City so wish me luck!

Here’s the photos of my copy of Pearl!

I was in the process of leveling up my Chatot so she ain’t looking too good right now.

So do y’all think about all of this? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Thank you for reading!

[catflowerqueen]

Logistics of a “Speed Run”

So, this is probably going to end up on my what if…? List eventually, so I think I’ll just do some vague outlining here.

Starting Premise: The original expedition members are the only ones who go on the expedition to fogbound Lake.

1st Time Gear Located: Mesprit’s

Dugtrio rationalizes his not being chosen as Wigglytuff and Chatot deciding he needs more quality time with his son, but Diglett is not yet at the level where he could handle a full expedition. He… might be right? At least partially? Like I said—I don’t think they would have separated the two long-term quite yet, but, in all honesty, Diglett does seem to be the more responsible of the pair at this moment. However, he also seemed to be leaning on his dad quite a bit during the actual expedition itself (looking to him for approval, for example) once they hit Base Camp, so it is also possible that his confidence is only because of his familiarity with the Guild and Treasure Town.

Whatever the case—Dugtrio decides to take this bonding opportunity to mentor his son on the complexities of the move Dig, and upon realizing/remembering that Laura also knows this move (or her expressing interest in learning it) decides to take her along, with Paula as a spotter. For some reason he decides the best place to do this is around the Northern Desert—likely as an intermediate sort of lesson, for how to deal with loose soil and cave-ins? Or something? Or, like, there just so happens to be a lot of jobs for that area, so he just decides once they finish them to start working on Dig lessons.

Croagunk remains behind to watch the guild and his Swap Cauldron.

The group ends up accidentally tunneling into Quicksand Cave and either decide to take the opportunity to explore, or have no other choice because the tunnels collapsed and they can’t get out otherwise. This is possibly Laura’s fault, if her feelings of déjà vu and familiarity for the place (which she did canonically feel there in canon, but to a somewhat lesser degree since she was comparing it to her experience at Foggy Forest—meaning that she would be feeling it even more here) distract her to the point of making some digging mistakes. The result either way is that they end up meeting Mesprit and seeing her Time Gear. She doesn’t really have good defenses like Uxie does—she can sort of project feelings of disinterest, fear to make others leave her alone, but only if she’s paying attention and considering that Laura is in the party, it might not work. So, they’re going to have to try and get through to her via words.

Team Rainbow may or may not reveal the whole “human” thing to Mesprit—unlike in canon where the stories about Uxie made them think he was directly involved in the amnesia, there isn’t really a correlation between Mesprit’s powers and Laura’s situation that they can tell, in addition to the fact that they are not alone here, and might feel awkward about bringing it up around Diglett and his dad.

Either way, Mesprit extracts a promise from them not to tell, and they go home. Croagunk remains oblivious.

 2nd Time Gear located: Azelf’s

Probably at some point they’ll run into Grovyle—who has a little more freedom of movement since he hasn’t been identified yet. He may or may not go into the guild itself at some point to gather news, but at some point he and Laura will spend some time standing next to each other—or she just happens to be in his vicinity for some reason, like if he’s on the Beach muttering to himself and she overhears and wanders over to listen.

We already know he has somewhat of a habit of talking to himself—which probably stems from how quiet Laura was while travelling with him, so he would basically just soundboard off of her whenever they were planning/he felt it was relatively safe to talk (because he was a bit more socialized and had parents who would have encouraged him to talk/theorize/ask questions when the environment is safe. Not to mention he had a friend in Celebi before she was forced to relocate). But because he got in the habit, he sort of forgets at times that his partner isn’t actually around at the moment, resulting in him, well, talking to himself. And then when, unbeknownst to him, Laura is around… well, he would sort of sense the familiarity and just fall back into those habits even easier.

The result of this is that she catches him debating which Time Gear location to go after next (though he wouldn’t actually say that part out loud) and she picks up the name Crystal Cave before he finally catches on to what he’s doing and makes a hasty exit. The name sounds familiar/intriguing, though, so Laura suggests that Team Rainbow go there next if they can find some jobs on the board. Which they do, so they do.

In the course of their work and exploring, they stumble upon the Crystal Lake. They are extremely nervous/panicked/general freaking out about finding another Time Gear when that was in no way their intent, and Azelf is curious/amused enough by the spectacle that he comes and investigates. He can tell they are determined to keep things a secret, and probably heard about the situation from Mesprit, so he’s actually pretty chill about the whole thing, and they probably even chat a little bit before the duo leaves. Laura probably gives him a warning that there might be a Grovyle coming to sight see or something in the near future, since that’s where she got the idea from to explore the place. So she unintentionally gives him the warning to be on the lookout, even though they still think at this time that his travelling plans were innocuous.

 3rd Time Gear located: Uxie’s

The guild finally returns, feeling a little bummed that their expedition was a failure—because, as I’ve said before, I think it is unlikely Uxie would have let the group (minus possibly Wigglytuff) see the lake if not for the hero and partner accidentally stalling for time and seeking unrelated information in the game, which would have endeared them to him more and made him more willing to risk it. Without them there—and without the partner finding the drought stone, since that may or may not have happened if they weren’t there (because, privately, I think the reason they found it in the first place was that everyone stampeding to explore accidentally unearthed it [and Uxie probably just goes and deposits it in a random place in the forest whenever it is successfully used and he has to resort to Groudon/memory wiping to drive them away] and then the partner just happened to look down at the right moment. But with fewer people in attendance, that part might not have happened).

Though, it is entirely possible (and likely) that Bidoof might have managed to find the stone if he got lost in the Forest Path loop one too many times, and then just decided to take it with him as a treasure, the way he did that random crystal in canon. And maybe they could successfully find the statue, but have to wait for Chatot or someone to decipher the footprint runes (because I get the feeling that’s an uncommon skill, but is one of the things the partner learned in preparation for fulfilling their dream), and then no one has any idea what the drought stone is. Possibly Bidoof doesn’t even pick it up until they’re leaving, and the group might not have had the cohesiveness they did in canon to all go and share their finds since Dugtrio wasn’t there to suggest the apprentices work as one. That left the group each holding a bunch of different puzzle pieces, but not being able to put them together.

Anyways, they return, life gets back to normal, Dusknoir shows up, yadda yadda. At some point Bidoof lets Laura look at the pretty rock he found, and she has a Dimensional Scream about its purpose (though she doesn’t yet know what her ability is called). This… probably gets shared with the guild at large? Especially if Dusknoir still happens to be hanging around when Bidoof is showing off? …Or if it happened the night they got back (before Dusknoir arrived), and then all the apprentices got excited and caught Chatot’s attention.

So, Wigglytuff decides that Bidoof, Paula, and Laura should go back there the next day to figure things out—since they’re the ones with the most pieces of the puzzle. And he probably lets them go alone, at that, so Bidoof can actually get another chance to fulfill his wish and actually teach his friends things. So they do, and find Uxie and his Time Gear. And probably also ask him about the memory thing (since I feel like Bidoof’s presence is less awkward as far as spilling that goes? He is kind of their teacher, and the one that they’re probably closest to, even if he doesn’t generally get to do as much for them as he’d hoped). More conversations ensue and promises of secrecy are made—as well as some vows to look into things since it is extremely weird that this duo keeps finding Time Gears when they aren’t even trying to do so—though Uxie is going to be vague about it with Bidoof’s presence, only mentioning that they’d made contact with his siblings without bringing up what they guard.

Uxie either gives them a random treasure or helps them come up with a cover story to tell everyone else—probably something like “it turns out that the legendary lake is just what happens when the fog “lifts.” Or, more “accurately,” what happens is all the fog and water vapor condense and absolutely drenches and waterlogs the forest. The groudon statue is, therefore, somewhat of a misdirection.

…Laura probably comes up with that explanation, purely because of how complex it is and how many logical leaps it requires. But they just let her have her fun with it, considering the personal disappointment she just went through.

Also—Grovyle’s timeline is a bit delayed from what it was in canon since he got a bit scared off by that brush with Laura and decided to lay low for a little bit. So he either shows up a day after they leave, or they happen to see him on their way back—but don’t pick up on the fact that he’s there to steal the Time Gear. Uxie does not think they told Grovyle about him both because of just how quickly he appeared after the trio left and because Azelf probably told him about Laura’s tourist warning.

 Fallout:

There is awkwardness among the Dugtrio family, Bidoof, and Team Rainbow when the news breaks about the Limestone Cavern gear being missing, and then even more when Grovyle is finally revealed as the thief—especially since that particular revelation comes with Laura blurting out about how she saw the guy earlier, and how he was making travel plans—so now she feels guilty that she didn’t think to question him about it. …And then with that comes the revelation that the remaining Time Gears’ locations are already known. Which does make it a little easier to actually go and fortify them, since they don’t have to spend time searching.

The end result is probably that they catch Grovyle at whichever lake he targets next, and the whole “getting dragged into the future” thing happens a lot earlier, and without the massive injury and illness from the Crystal Lake fight that gets alluded to in Missing Scenes. This also means that the Town Meeting scene probably doesn’t happen, since Dusknoir doesn’t actually need to utilize all those resources. Though there would have to be a scene or something that happens afterwards with the guild, at least—and probably Officer Magnezone—where Dusknoir would have to explain why he should get custody of the criminal.

This… leads to some interesting possibilities as far as whether or not the whole “the hero and partner get dragged into the future” thing would even happen. Because at the very least Dusknoir would have to give a reason for why Laura would need to come with him, and depending on where they do all this planning, and whether or not Grovyle happens to be in earshot for this…

Well, I’m imagining a scene or something where Dusknoir “suggests” that Laura (and probably Paula) guard Grovyle while he goes and gets all the sableye ready to prepare for a return trip (because that way he can keep the two of them close together if he needs to quickly grab them and run). Laura probably would accidentally touch him at some point and set off a dimensional scream, which would reveal, if not everything about her own personal history, then at least some inconsistencies in Dusknoir’s story. So Grovyle’s innocence would probably get sorted out fairly quickly, and then the issue would become how to protect him and the Time Gears from Dusknoir, as well as how to find the Hidden Land. …Or that dimensional scream happens right before Dusknoir drags him to the future, so Laura is still reeling from that revelation when she and Paula get dragged there as well—which would endear Grovyle and his efforts to them very quickly, and they would be on board with his plans from the start.

In any case, they would have a lot more time to plan, bond, and search for the Hidden Land after that. Which means discussion of Laura’s past and history would become inevitable, and the whole “we will disappear” thing might get figured out. But I don’t see this particular “what if…?” scenario being one where Relatia actually gets called to fix things, simply because Laura wouldn’t have quite enough time here to figure all of that out.

[totallycorrectpmdquotes]

Backfire? OwO

Backfire uwu

(Chapter 1)

Uxie’s powers aren’t just limited to his lake, and affect all memories which could be traced back to the Time Gears. It’s easy to imagine the mental catastrophe this could cause in the mind of someone who’s spent nearly their entire life looking into them. In his defense, Uxie was really mad at Grovyle.

-

2.

The chairs in Officer Magnezone’sstation were stumps that had been cut for Pokémon much smaller than Dusknoirwas. Still, he grabbed one, set it down outside the cell Grovyle had beentossed in, and settled down to wait.

The hallway with cells wasnothing like the stockade Grovyle and Breanna should be in right now. It lackedthe proper atmosphere of crushing dread and was far too bright. When Grovyleawoke, he might still have hope of escape – although, if Uxie was to bebelieved, it would still be several hours before they had to worry about that.Dusknoir had been unwilling to admit he wasn’t entirely sure how long an hourwas, and he refused to take any chances. While the legendary trio went toreport their victory to the townsfolk, he did his best to make himselfcomfortable in his self-imposed guard duty.

He’d never liked guard duty.

When he had first joined MasterDialga’s ranks, there had been an abundance of pointless little rebellions.Irritating as they were, humans were persistent. When time had frozen, they hadcreated ways to grow their crops despite it and continued as if nothing hadchanged. But survival was never enough for them, and when one man stumbledacross ancient information on the Time Gears, the humans had stood with him anddecided they had a right to destroy everyone’s lives. They brainwashedthe Pokémon who weren’t smart enough to flee their insanity into acting asfirepower and set out to end the world.

Dusknoir had leant his strengthto Master Dialga as soon as he could. With his team, they had captured so manyof the morons who thought history owed them something. Afterwards, theywould have to guard them while the execution chambers were being prepared.Dusknoir could still hear so many voices in his ears that echoed faintly and promisedthat there was a way to save them, to save everyone, if they’d just letme go, please, I can help you.

There was a face in the knots ofthe wood that made up the prison floor that looked like a concerned human man.

Dusknoir jumped and drove hisfist into the image. Shards of ice curled through the gaps in the wood as itsplintered. Dusknoir waited several long moments before he pulled his fistback. His breath came in heavy, shallow gasps that shook his whole body.

The x-eye seed should be out ofhis system by now. He shouldn’t still be seeing false faces everywhere helooked. Dusknoir pulled a sliver from one of his knuckles and turned back toGrovyle’s cell.

He’d shifted in his sleep and hadhis newly-bound hands pressed against the side of his head. His face wascontorted in pain, and his breathing was much more ragged than Dusknoir’s. Helooked pitiful.

Dusknoir scowled and turned away.He pulled the remaining slivers from his hand and kept one eye on the crumbledpatch of wood. There was no hint of the face he had seen.

He looked up at the sound offamiliar footsteps. “Have they finished?”

The sableye gave a short nod anda nervous laugh. “The bird and pink one want to talk to you.”

“The what? ”

Dusknoir nearly wrapped his handaround the sableye’s throat. Instead, he stuffed his anger away and tried tolook pleasant as he focused on the small form poking her head around thecorner. “Ah, Miss Vulpix. You’re looking well.”

The human-turned-vulpix lookedgenuinely horrible. Breanna had dark circles around her eyes which stood outdespite her short fur. There was still a notch in her right ear from the fightwith Grovyle, as well as several bandages across her chest and front legs. Oneof her tails was still scarred with an electrical burn from the misadventure inAmp Plains.

Breanna frowned. “…Thanks.” Shepointed a paw at the sableye. “Was your friend talking about the Guildmaster?”

“I believe so,” Dusknoir saidevenly. He held a particularly large wooden shard between two fingers andsnapped it in front of the sableye’s face. “You’ll have to excuse him, he wasraised in a mystery dungeon. He doesn’t mean to be rude.”

Breanna tipped her head to theside, and the curled tufts of fur atop her head bounced against her ears. “Ithought mystery dungeons were caused because time was out of balance – whywouldn’t putting the Time Gears back fix that?”

Dusknoir clenched his fisttighter, and the sableye gave another nervous laugh. “There are some questionseven I can not answer. I have theories, but no facts to back them.” He forced asmile, “Perhaps you and your guildmates will find those yourselves, one day.”

Breanna shuffled and focused onher paws. “Maybe,” she said. Her fur fluffed out, and she looked back up. “Uxietook away Grovyle’s memory.”

Oh, Dusknoir recognized thattone. He hated where this was going. “He did, yes.”

She glanced at the sableye andtook a long breath in. “So, he’s like me now?”

“That is not a comparison I wouldmake,” Dusknoir said. “You are a good person. He is still a criminal who nearlykilled you and your friend.” He put on a look of concern, “How is your partner?Have his injuries healed at all?”

Breanna huffed. “That’s not thepoint.” She shuffled again, still clearly nervous. “D- Riolu’s fine. He’s fine.We’re both fine.” She looked up and focused on Dusknoir with a hard stare. “Iwant to talk to Grovyle.”

“No,” Dusknoir saidautomatically, “absolutely not.”

She growled. It was adorable.“Why not?!”

“Among other reasons, he is stillunconscious. It’ll be a few hours still before he wakes.” Dusknoir said, “Beyondthat, and please believe me when I say this comes from a place of genuineconcern, he nearly killed you. I cannot leave you alone with him in goodconscience.” Especially while there was still a chance he remembered her.

She huffed once again, and Breannapadded over to his side. She sat down between him and the sableye, her furstill fluffed out as she looked up at him with familiar eyes. “Then I’m notleaving you alone with him, either.”

Dusknoir broke eye contact andhoped his flinch was subtle enough. The x-eye seed should be out of his systemby now. This didn’t make any sense. “If you insist,” he said. Thesableye laughed nervously once again.

For several minutes Dusknoir satstock-still, and a human-turned-Pokémon with a dead man haunting her expressionleaned against him. He refused to look her way. He refused to focus on anypatch of wood for more than a few seconds. This shouldn’t still behappening.

He didn’t even really know what washappening.

The abrupt end to the sableye’slaugh alongside the approach of hopping footsteps brought an end to the briefpeace, and Dusknoir forced away his moment of weakness. He glanced down at thesableye, who was focused on Breanna. She’d pulled away from Dusknoir and turnedto watch Grovyle. His breathing was rough again, and he trembled in his sleep.Breanna took a small step closer to the bars.

Dusknoir placed a hand on hershoulders and gently turned her back around.

Chatot, Wigglytuff, a Magnetonofficer, and finally the lake trio turned the corner to join the group.Dusknoir barely withheld his scowl. Chatot took one look at Breanna andsquawked.

“Vulpix!” He said, “Get away fromthat cell!” He flew over, landed between her and the sableye, and startedtrying to shoo her away from the bars. “My apologies, Dusknoir, sir. Thisimpudent child was told to stay in her room and rest.”

“It’s quite alright,” Dusknoirsaid, forcefully casual. Breanna fluffed up her fur and sidestepped away fromChatot. She gave Dusknoir the same hauntingly familiar look she had before asshe moved to join the larger group.

“Is it?” Mesprit asked and made asmall gesture to draw her brothers’ attention to the damaged part of the floor.

Dusknoir, very slowly, droppedthe slivers of wood he was still holding and floated off of his seat. “Ofcourse. She was merely worried, don’t fault the girl for that.” He turned toWigglytuff, who’d been watching them with an… unreadable expression. “Have youbeen fully informed of the situation?”

Wigglytuff hummed and skippedover to Dusknoir’s side, slipping in between him and the sableye. Grovyle hadcalmed down somewhat, and once again looked pitiful. “A bit, but just thatmuch! He hurt my friends, and I want to make sure he won’t do it again.” He turnedaround and looked down at Breanna. “Did your partner follow you, my dearfriendly-friend?”

Breanna’s fluffed up fur fellflat, her ears drooped, and she tucked her tails between her legs. “…Maybe.”

Chatot squawked, offended. “Hiscondition is worse than yours! What were the two of you thinking? Where ishe?!”

The floorboards creaked, and twounfortunately familiar faces poked their heads around the corner. Dusknoircouldn’t help but smile; these unobservant fools had walked right pastBreanna’s partner and their bidoof guildmate. That could have been an ambush.They could have been killed.

“Riolu!” Chatot squawked andfluttered over to the other heavily bandaged Pokémon. “You were confined toyour room for a reason, young man! And Bidoof, they are your juniors! Youshould have known better! What were you thinking? Go back to the guild, theGuildmaster and I will be having strong words with the three of you when wereturn!”

Bidoof pulled back. Riolu, whowas using him as a crutch, nearly fell on his face. “W-well gee, golly sir,”Bidoof rambled, “I didn’t realize this was so severe. And, ya see, they weremighty worried about the great Dusknoir.”

“Please don’t put yourself indanger on my account,” Dusknoir said.

“A ladder and some stairs are not‘danger,’” Breanna said.

Azelf raised a hand. “I’d likethem to stay if it’s not too much trouble.” He smiled at Riolu, who still had aheavy patch of gauze on the wound on his throat. “We don’t want to do this ifit’s too much for you.”

“Do what, dear friends?” Wigglytuffasked, humming again as he rocked on his heels. He was still watching Grovyle.“In the meeting, all you said was that all his memories were gone and he’d bestaying in this time for now.”

“Not all his memories are gone,”Uxie said as Breanna opened her mouth. “I could only take away those involvingthe Time Gears. However, those were most of them.” He glanced at Mesprit andAzelf, who nodded in sync. “From the amount I took from him, and how freshthose memories were, it’s likely he was forced into this life of crime as achild. It’s unfortunate, but curious – I’m sure you understand how strange thismystery is. Why would a child spend years on a quest to paralyse the planet? Ifsomeone else set him on this path, then we may have a bigger problem on ourhands.”

“Wait,” Breanna said. She turnedto Dusknoir with a frown. “Was Grovyle working with anyone?”

A weaker man would have laughedat the irony. Instead, Dusknoir simply shook his head and lied. “Aside from thePokémon he enlisted to bring him to your time, no. I have associates dealingwith her in my own time. She isn’t a threat to any of you.”

The sableye gave yet anothernervous chuckle. When he caught sight of Dusknoir’s disapproving frown, hecoughed.

“And besides that,” Mesprit spokeup, “we’re now dealing with a young man who has no idea what he nearly did. Youcan see why we’d have a bit of an issue with just sending him back to thefuture for trial.”

Now that was somethingDusknoir nearly laughed at. The idea of Master Dialga leaving his tower tojudge a trial was simply too amusing of an image. The lake trio finishedrunning over the previous night’s argument and let Azelf have the last word.

“Given the circumstances,Dusknoir suggested that your guild lead the investigation into how thishappened.” Dusknoir pointedly ignored the shocked expression on Chatot’s face.“And my siblings and I agree. If anyone can uncover this mystery, it would bethe Wigglytuff Guild.”

“No,” Chatot said, “absolutelynot! We will not put our apprentices at risk like this! He’s already nearlykilled two of them, I will not allow the others to be put in this level ofdanger.”

Wigglytuff hummed louder. “Idon’t know… Chatot is right. He hurt a lot of people. But this is reallysad.” He frowned and looked at his associate with wide eyes. “I don’t want himto be alone.”

“Guildmaster,” Chatot said, “thisis far too dangerous. You can’t agree to this.”

“Don’t we get a say?”

Riolu’s voice was still quiet,hoarse, and raw. He sounded horrible and winced with every few words. Breannahurried over to his side and pressed up against him.

“Dusk - Riolu,” she winced andcontinued, louder, as if that would get everyone to ignore her social taboo.“Is right. We’re the ones he hurt. We should get an opinion.”

Wigglytuff clapped. “Yes! Youshould! What do you think, Team Relic?”

Riolu swallowed and glanced downat Breanna. She replied with a determined nod, and they both turned back toWigglytuff. He took a long breath in, “If he doesn’t remember being a bad Pokémon,we should help him.”

Dusknoir’s heart hammered andplunged from his chest. “Pardon me?” Something was wrong. Breanna shouldn’t besupporting this.

“We should give him a chance,”Breanna added. “Right now, he’s not a good person or a bad person – but he willbe a scared person. He’ll know something’s missing, and he’ll want tofind out what it is. We don’t have to tell him he’s a criminal. We can just lethim be Grovyle.”

“I – I think you may havemisunderstood,” Dusknoir said, and held up a hand. Breanna had total amnesia -she shouldn’t have any attachment to Grovyle. “Just his memories of theTime Gears are gone. He is not entirely amnesiac. He may still be a threat toyou all. Honestly, the safest option would be to simply let me take him back tothe future.”

Wigglytuff whistled a brief tune.“But we could just let him be Grovyle.” He clapped again, “This soundsexciting! Let’s make him a room!”

“Guildmaster!” Chatot said, “Youcan’t be serious! Shouldn’t you at least take some time to think about it?”

“Oh, I did!” Wigglytuff replied,“I thought about it lots while everyone was talking, and I decided that Guildshelp Pokémon in need. Besides, Team Relic also wants to help. They’ll havesomething to do when they’re resting at the guild all day besides sentry duty –doesn’t that sound great?”

Chatot opened his beak, gaveWigglytuff a curious look, and then nodded. “Right, then.” He turned to thesilent Magneton officer, “Tell the rest of your unit what we’ve decided,please. The Guildmaster and I will go set up a room for him. Vulpix, Riolu, Ipresume you’ll need some assistance making your way up the stairs?”

“Bidoof can help us,” Breannasaid, a bit harsher than necessary as the magneton quietly left the room.

“I’m sure,” Chatot said dully.Wigglytuff raced past him as he began to direct the others out of the hall.

“We should be getting back to ourlakes,” Azelf said, “And return the other Time Gears as well.”

Uxie sighed. “I suppose we’ll seeeach other during the next apocalyptic disaster, then?”

Mesprit threw her arms around theother two’s shoulders. “Well, I’m not ready to give up on family time just yet.There’s a cute little café just outside of town, let’s go get some brunch.” Sheturned to Dusknoir, “You should join us! They had a sign out front advertisingpurple gummi juice.”

Dusknoir sat back down and gavethe trio a neutral look. “I appreciate the offer. However, I must stay here.Amnesia or not, I can’t simply leave him unguarded.”

The three of them frowned at him.“We’ll bring you one back before we leave, then.” Azelf said, and with one moreuncomfortably long look Dusknoir’s way, they left as well.

Dusknoir took a long breath inand counted to twenty-five. He let the breath out. The sableye chuckleduncomfortably and inched away from him.

Dusknoir lunged for his lackeyand pulled him close. “Let me be perfectly clear,” he hissed, “not one word ofthis exchange reaches the ears of your brothers or anyone in our future. As faras any of you are concerned, we are staying due to complications with thedimensional hole. Is this understood?”

The sableye nodded. “Y-yes! Yes,I -”

A low, disappointed voice cutthrough the sableye’s and drowned out his words. Dusknoir could feel the breathon the back of his neck. “Murderer.”

Dusknoir dropped the sableye andwhipped around. He stared down the empty hallway.

“Master Dusknoir?” The sableyeasked, “is something wrong?”

Dusknoir waved him off. “Returnto your post,” he said.

The sableye backed up andhesitated for several seconds too long before he scurried away.

Dusknoir scowled and put his headin his hands. “This is getting ridiculous,” he groaned and glanced back atGrovyle. He was twitching once again. “What in Dialga’s name did you attack mewith?”

“Murderer,” the empty hallwhispered again, and Dusknoir shuddered.

“It’s the wind,” he said with ascowl. “It makes horribly irritating noises in this time. I don’t know how I’msupposed to enjoy history with it always whispering like that.” He turned backaround. For a breath, there was the image of a human man in front of him, fullydressed in the regalia of Primal Dialga’s army. A dark cloud of shadows wrappedaround his lower ribcage, obscuring any injuries. He raised a hand.

Dusknoir dared to blink, and theimage was gone.

In the cell behind him, Grovylegave a high-pitched wheeze that almost sounded like a scream.

.-.

Chatot didn’t need theGuildmaster’s subtle but pointed ear twitch to tell him to stay; he’d plannedto do so anyway. Wigglytuff hurried the younger three back up towards theGuild, he stayed by the station. The timing was quite convenient: when theywere far enough down the road that they were out of earshot, Uxie and hissiblings exited the building. They nodded to Chatot.

“Grovyle had a bag of items onhim,” he said, “what happened to it?”

Azelf pulled a smaller, nearlyworn-through treasure bag from his own. He held it up to Uxie, who carefullyremoved the four Time Gears from a side pocket before his brother handed it toChatot. “Be careful, we haven’t had a chance to check it for traps.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, thankyou.” He took the bag and gave it a brief examination. There was a pocket onthe inside which was clearly supposed to be a secret, a surplus of reviverseeds and other healing items, and several orbs meant to assist monster houses.The truly odd part was how familiar the contents were to those carried by TeamRelic. While there were more food-based items, which was common enough whentraveling alone, the ratios and sorting were otherwise nearly identical to TeamRelic’s treasure bag.

Chatot dismissed the strangenessand returned his attention to the lake guardians. “The Guildmaster and I wantedto ask you about the great Dusknoir. He seems…” he took a moment and struggledto find the right word. “…unwell.”

“We’ve noticed,” Mesprit saidsoftly. “He was hit with an X-eye seed during the fight, and he’s been having abad reaction to it. We’re not sure why the effects haven’t worn off by now.”

“He’s still troubled by whateverhe hallucinated,” Uxie added. He gave a deep frown as Azelf glanced over hisshoulder. “Frightened, even. We’re worried about him. He’s been acting like adifferent person.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine in time,”Chatot said. He adjusted the strap on Grovyle’s bag so it would fit his smallerform. “However, I’ll pass that along to the Guildmaster. He’ll be able toarrange something so our medical officer can check on him.”

The three relaxed. “Thank you,”Uxie said, “you should talk to that sableye as well. There’s six of them total,and he said they’re associates from his time. They might be able to helpidentify what’s upsetting him.”

“That’s useful, I appreciate it.”He flapped his wings and slung the bag over a shoulder. “Will you be departingsoon? It’s a long way back to your lakes.”

“Unfortunately,” Azelf sighed.“We’ll have to contact the guardians from where the other two were taken, andthe sixth one as well. It’s worrying that we haven’t heard anything from any ofthem.”

“Well, I wish you the best ofluck.” Chatot said cordially, “I trust you will keep myself and the Guildmasterupdated in case there are any other noteworthy events?”

“Of course!” Mesprit said, “Aslong as you’re willing to do the same for us. I know it’s a bit of a journey,but I’d be willing to teleport any messenger back to town.”

Her brothers nodded. “I’d do thesame since mine’s the farthest out,” Uxie said. “Azelf?”

“Of course!” Azelf said, “and ifDusknoir’s, well, condition worsens we’d appreciate if you sent one soonerrather than later.”

“I give you my word,” Chatotsaid, and gave his goodbyes. The trio continued towards the crossroads, and hetook to the sky and back to the Guild. He passed by the Guildmaster, stillhelping the injured teammates up the hill, and landed beside the sentry grate.One of the bag’s straps pinched his feathers, and he craned his neck to adjustit. As he did, he caught sight of something.

There was a small patch onGrovyle’s bag, on the same side as the supposedly secret pocket, which wascompletely worn through. In it, Chatot could see a few bound pieces ofparchment. With a significant amount of difficulty, he maneuvered them out andinto his wings. They were held together with a few braided strands of a ratherplain string, which he barely noticed slip out of his feathers.

The first was a simple, grayscalemap. It had the location of every Time Gear and several other dungeons marked –including the Beach Cave. Curious.

The second was what appeared tobe a reference sheet between footprint ruins and some sort elaborately curvylanguage. The third was another reference sheet, this one between what appearedto be the Pokémon Unown and that curvy language once again. Finally, there wasthe fourth – this was a letter, written in the curvature.

Chatot tapped his foot on thegrate and shuffled between the four pieces of paper once again. “Fascinating.Absolutely fascinating.” The Guildmaster would love to see this. He wentto rewrap the string, which was no longer in his hand, and frowned. He glanceddown as a gust ruffled his feathers, picked up the string, and dropped it rightdown the sentry grate.

Chatot huffed. “Very well then,”he rerolled the parchments and returned them to their pocket. It was a simplepiece of string; it wasn’t like one of the worst thieves the continent had everseen would miss it.

[lovepmd]

When Sky disappeared, the one that was truly there for Kai afterwards was Bidoof. Sure, the other guild members helped out and tried to be there for him in their own ways, but Bidoof was the best one of the bunch.

There were some days where Kai just refused to get up in the morning, and Bidoof convinced Chatot to just leave him alone. And when Bidoof had some extra time, he would just go into the room and sit with him. Sometimes he’d try to ask Kai a question or get him to talk, but when it was obvious that Kai wasn’t in the mood, he’d just sit there. And Kai appreciated that. He didn’t want to get up and do work, but being alone in that room didn’t feel all that great either. So Bidoof coming in to just sit with him did help him feel better.

Kai did also lash out a few times at the other guild members. His “quick to anger” got worse sometimes and he’d snap at one of them. But he had enough sense to calm down after and apologize, but it was just him muttering an apology before going to his room to cool down. He’d do a more proper apology later.

Bidoof was good at offering distractions to Kai once he saw he wasn’t feeling well. Either suggesting to go to a room for a little bit, go down to the cafe for a drink, go into town for some shopping, etc. Whatever needed to be offered at the time to get Kai’s mind off what was upsetting him.

It took a while for Kai to put together what he was feeling exactly. And of course Bidoof was 100% oblivious himself. It wasn’t until after Sky returned and he saw how close they got in his absence. Sky again teased Kai, but also had a serious discussion with him about it. A short while later, and Kai and Bidoof officially started dating.

[terra-writes]

Mystic Messenger Pokémon AU

This wasn’t a request, but it’s something I’ve thought about off an on for almost a year and a half now. I might expand on this more one day but if any of you guys have suggestions about this feel free to send them in! Also I didn’t include MC in this because I left it open for you guys to interpret and determine how your own MC falls into this AU! Anyways I hope you enjoy! Also sorry to everyone wanting Vanderwood but I don’t feel comfortable writing for him as I don’t feel like there’s enough content with him in the game for me to get a handle on his character and do it confidently.

Also big thanks to my friend Mary @maruthor for helping me out with this AU! And putting up with my shit but

Warning: Spoilers for character’s routes below, read at your own risk

Yoosung:

This boy

This sweet boy

Of course, he ends up running his own Pokémon clinic

It’s not a Pokémon Center, they’re weirdly ornery about having to have a Nurse Joy run those

But it’s a small clinic in a more remote area of the Kanto region and it suits him just fine

He probably ends up doubling it as a mini Pokémon daycare service after and incident with Seven’s ditto and two of his own Pokémon

And the fact that Seven gifted him a ditto of his own after said incident because he’s “just trying to help his friend continue to earn a living”

Yoosung doesn’t have a lot of Pokémon of his own, but he’s acquired a few that were given to him or left behind by patrons who couldn’t keep them anymore for whatever reason

Those Pokémon include: a Glameow from Jumin, Blissey, Noctowl, Pikachu, Glaceon, Lillipup and Rattata

The Blissey came from a Nurse Joy as a Happiny as a thank you for his help during an outbreak of a Pokémon illness that had shown up one day

His own personal partner for his clinic was an Audino from the Unova Region where he went to study Pokémon medicine and care

Occasionally he’s called out of the clinic to care for a sick or injured Pokémon

So he does travel some, but not as often as other members of the RFA

He’s the only one Jumin trusts to care after his many cat Pokémon and precious Elizabeth the 3rd

Not that he himself is too thrilled about that

He even takes the overflow from a nearby Pokémon Center occasionally and probably most often travels out there to help out when needed

Zen:

Zen is obviously still an actor

But instead of just doing musicals, he now does full-fledged Pokémon movie productions

He has two partner Pokémon he’s had since before his career that appear on stage with him

One is his Milotic, and the other is his dusk form Lycanroc

He’ll never forget the day his feebas evolved

He credits his Milotic as one of his biggest inspirations to keep going

Since it was his Feebas at the time that helped keep him positive during the time before and after he ran away from home

It was one of his days that he was feeing more down than usual

It was a complete accident that he had come across a prism scale

And at first he didn’t know what it was, let alone that his Feebas could even evolve

But he had thought it was pretty and wanted to give it to his friend as a thank you for being there for him

When his Feebas started to evolve to say he was surprised was an understatement and he was blown away by the sheer beauty of its evolved form

But seeing his now Milotic in front of him gave him a new sense of hope and self confidence

He didn’t meet his other partner until after he was running with the biker gangs

He had come across the little Rockruff at the time digging through some trash cans in an alley

Remembering the hard times he faced while still living on the streets, he decided to take the Pokémon home with him without a second thought

He was once again awestruck when his Rockruff evolved

He decided to do some research about his new friend, and so he was aware of the two evolutionary forms of Lycanroc, and the rarer third evolution form

He had been visiting his favorite spot up in the mountain with his two Pokémon

Trying to clear his head, and train his Rockruff to help it evolve

When it started to glow and change form, he thought it was going to be the Midday form, he didn’t realize how low the sun had gotten during the time he had been up there

When the evolution light faded and he saw the Dusk Form staring back at him

He was over the moon with excitement

Since that day he worked harder on his acting career, and with the three of them on stage he was quick to draw the eye of many fans across the regions

Occasionally he is propositioned to work with other Pokémon as is partners, but he always refuses

His dream was to preform yes, but he would never abandon his two closest friends who helped get him where he was today

Occasionally he takes his two partners to compete in Pokémon Showcases in and around the Region

It helps keep him and his team in top shape for the cameras, and it allows him to enjoy friendly competitions with his friends

Once he joined the RFA, Jumin had gifted him an Eevee for one of his birthdays

When it evolved into an Espeon, Zen was a mix of emotions

Even though he knew that Espeon was a fox Pokémon, the fact that it still vaguely looked like a cat was enough to set his allergies on edge

He refused to give it away though, he’d never abandon one of his Pokémon, but he swears that the trust fund kid planned it

And though Jumin would never admit it, in a way he knew that it was a likely outcome given Zen’s personality which was why he did it

Jaehee:

She currently runs a Pokémon Café in Lumiose City

She needed a break from all the stress working under Jumin brought to her life so one day she just turned in her resignation letter and opened up a café

With a little help from Jumin

He felt a little betrayed at first, but he got over it fast and offered to open it up under his company

As a parting gift he gave her a shiny Swirlix as well as it’s needed evolutionary item

Only after he tried to give her a cat Pokémon for the mascot on several occasions with which she had to put her foot down

Eventually she decided to use her Lucario as the café’s mascot, since it was with her since before her parents passed away

It took some time, but eventually she was able to make the business take off with the help of some of her Pokémon who also worked as staff

Some of her Pokémon include: Leafeon, Shuckle, Miltank, Mienshao, Stufful, Kirlia, Vespiquen, Chesnaught, and Lurantis

Jumin:

He’s the Ceo-in-line of his father’s company

Which produces a wide variety of Pokémon items as well as things for their trainers as well as regular citizens

C A T   D A D

He has so many cat Pokémon

It’s probably why Jaehee quit tbh

The main problem, is his Skitty, Elizabeth the 3rd who was gifted to him by none other that Jihyun one year after his Delcatty had an egg

Elizabeth is a hyperactive Pokémon with an eye for destruction whenever Jumin isn’t around

I like to think that his Skitty is like May’s from the anime

Other than Elizabeth, he has: Persian, Alolan Persian, Purugly, Liepard, Luxray, both genders of Pyroar and Meowstic, and Incineroar

He also has an Espeon which he adamantly refuses to admit looks a little like a cat to Zen in order to keep messing with him

And to further mess with Zen (partly) he has a statue of Elizabeth the 3rd on display in the park near C&R, which so happens to be a park Zen has to walk by every day to get to work

He also has a Dragonite, an Urasring and a Kindra for extra protection

Is habit of trying to make cat-related projects is still a big thing with him

He one day wants to open up an entire island just for cat Pokémon

Jaehee had been able to narrowly keep avoiding that disaster every single time, but his new assistant is going to have some work cut out for them

Probably inadvertently the reason Mewtwo exists

He heard Mew being described as “the pink cat Pokémon” and that was all it took

He often travels to watch Jihyun compete in contests when he can

Especially if he hears that he’ll be using his Delcatty

He’s also seen quite a few of Zen’s showcases but he’ll never say anything to him

Also keeps trying to use his position to get really rare Pokémon and Mega Stones/Z-Crysrals for the other members of the RFA because he knows he can be quite hard to get along with, but he does care about the other members whom he considers his friends and in some cases family

Saeyoung/707:

Since Saeyoung loves space so much, he works at an observatory or at the Space Center in Mossdeep City in Hoenn

His Pokémon have a lot to do with Space and technical work, so he ends up with an interesting mix of Pokémon

He used to work initially as a Professor’s assistant studying fossil pokemon, but the work proved too much for him

He left amicably to work at the space center, so he could still be involved with the RFA and his brother more

Still has an Aerodactyl and a Tyrantrum from that time whom he bonded with and was allowed to take with him

He was also gifted a Torchic from the professor when he first started working there

Also owns a Chatot for the sole purpose of playing pranks on his co-workers and the rest of the RFA much to their annoyance

His Pokémon include: Clefable, all 7 colored Minior plus a shiny Minior, Starmie, Lunatone and Solrock, Beheeyem, Porygon-Z, Reuniclus, Vikavolt, Ditto, Castform, and Rotom

Absolutely won’t stop asking Jihyun if he too could have a Skitty, to which Jihyun always finds a way to politely avoid answering the question and changing the topic

He also owns an Espeon, which is from his childhood and is part of a set of twin Eevee’s him and his brother had befriended before they were rescued from their home

It’s his ultimate goal to one day own a Deoxys and maybe a Jirachi

Ends up owning a Poipole for research after a trip to the Alolan Region to help investigate Ultra Wormholes ends up going haywire

Jihyun/V:

He definitely travels a lot across all the regions

He’s still an artist, so he often takes pictures to paint later on in his studio

He was a nature photographer, so his Pokémon are a lot of grass types supplemented by a few other types of Pokémon to even things out

His starter Pokémon was a Bulbasaur, and it’s his most trusted companion that he takes with him everywhere

He probably shed a few happy tears each time it evolved

The first thing he did when he learned about Mega Evolution was to get a Venasaurite for his most trusted companion

Jumin probably offered to acquire one for him, but Jihyun declined, wanting to make the journey himself

He also participates in Pokémon Contests

His Pokémon definitely reflect that artist side of him

Some of his Pokémon are: Florges, Delcatty, Beautifly, Bellossom, shiny Sylveon, Alolan Ninetails, Togekiss, Gallade, Altaria, Roserade, Cherrim, Gastrodon, Leavanny, Whimsicott, Lilliagnt, Cinccino, Sawsbuck, Volcarona, all patterns of Vivillion, Riombee, Smeargle and Bewear

Definitely has every single grass type starter

And probably a Primarina

Jumin does worry about him though, so he made sure to gift him some pseudo-legendary Pokémon for his own piece of mind over his friend’s safety

especially after hearing about some of the more dangerous areas Jihyun tends to end up in for the sake of his art

Not that he thinks Jihyun’s Pokémon are weak

So from Jumin, his Pokémon are Aggron, Tyrannitar, and Metagross

He was also gifted an Amaura from Jumin, who thought it would be enough to fit his aesthetic while still being a somewhat powerful Pokémon

And Jumin just likes spoiling his friend with cool Pokémon when he’s allowed to

Since Jihyun is rich, he definitely has a house with a lot of land around it so that he can keep so many Pokémon

They’re some of his biggest inspiration for his art, and he likes capturing them in their natural element when he’s not traveling or competing

Definitely has seen and befriended a Celebi on one of his trips and visits as often as he can

Seven also gifted him a Bruxish one year as a joke knowing it was an eyesore of a Pokémon

None of them were expecting Jihyun to absolutely fall in love with it and make it the subject of his art for the next 8 months

No one has the heart to tell him how they really feel about it

He’s just so happy to share everything about his splotchy fish someone please save him

Saeran:

He used to be an admin under Rika

But he ended up leaving

He was persuaded by Saeyoung to become the regional professor’s assistant

He was skeptical at first, but he found the job surprisingly rewarding and healing after everything he had been put through with Rika and his past

The Pokémon didn’t judge him for the deeds he had done, and it allowed him to work through his own issues as well as atone for all the misfortune he caused under Rika

While still pursuing a greater cause that would benefit everyone

Ends up as they kind of person who befriends Pokémon really easily, so he ends up with a lot more than he started out with

Which makes it even better that he works for a Pokémon Professor who is more than willing to help house and care for all his Pokémon

The Eevee he had from his childhood evolved into an Umbreon, which is the only reason Rika had allowed him to keep it

He also had befriended a Swirlix while he was working for Rika, but had to keep it a secret lest she think it made him “weak”

He was able to evolve it after joining the RFA with the help of Jumin and Jaehee

He absolutely adores his Slurpuff and will fight anyone who tries to talk shit about it

He has quite a few Pokémon from his time as Rika’s admin

Most of them were ones she gave him to make him look “strong” and keep him in the mindset of the Saeran she created

She wouldn’t tolerate him having any Pokémon she deemed “weak” that might bring out Ray

His Pokémon include: Shiny Charizard, Nidoking, Arcanine, Alolan Marowak, Rhypherior, Granbull, Weavile, Houndoom, Staraptor, Sharpedo, Krookodile, Bisharp, Braviary, Hydreigon, Pangoro, and Midnight Form Lycanroc

Has a Magikarp and a Wimpod he raised in secret because he related to how people perceived it as being weak and useless

He may have shed a few tears when they finally evolved into a Gyarados and a Golisopod respectively

Jihyun probably also gifted him another Eevee at some point to help him reconnect with his brother and he absolutely cried when it evolved into a Sylveon because that’s only possible if there’s a strong bond of love between trainer and Pokémon

And it helped him prove that he was on the right track to healing all the lingering wounds from his past

After he joins the RFA, Jihyun probably gifts him several Flower Pokémon knowing how much he loves flowers

So he ends up with a Megainum, a Sunflora, a Florges, a Bellossom, a Roserade, and a Comfey

Eventually befriends a Zoroark on the professor’s grounds that he uses to get back at his brother and his Chatot

He eventually stumbles across a Mimikyu during one of his business trips to Alola

He absolutely falls in love with it and relates to it

Eventually with permission he grows a field of flowers that Shaymin need to switch forms and absolutely loves watching them all migrate, and that time is always one of his happiest

This boy just needs a lot of love in his life and he probably ends up with so many Pokémon because he can’t just abandon any Pokémon he finds that are hurt or struggling

Rika:

Founder and leader of Team Mint-Eye

Which also operates under the name “Magenta” in some instances to avoid authorities

This is still mostly the same Rika from the game that we see

Someone who wasn’t able to find a healthy way to cope with her past trauma and mental illness

And only got worse through the unhealthy relationship her and V had with one another

She uses Pokémon that she thinks represent the darkness and her “devil” within her and some that she uses to help control and manipulate her Believers and Admins

Her Pokémon include: Delphox, Gengar, Hypno, Honchkrow, Mismagius, Girafarig, Solrock & Lunatone, Sableye, Cacturne, Seviper, Banette, Dusknoir, Haxorus, Musharna, Cofagrigus, Gothitelle, Chandelure, Malamar, Dragalge, Trevenant, Salazzle, and Nihilego

Used to have a Darkrai and a Cresselia captured for her own use but Saeran ended up freeing them on his way out

Has plans to add more Ultra Beats to her lineup and the lineup of her Believers

She also has a Wigglytuff that Jihyun had given her when they were still together to try and help her stay on the right path but she doesn’t like using it and keeps it far away from her in the other end of her base

Not to say she’s abusing it, because despite everything Rika has done she’d never, but she just doesn’t like being reminded of that time

She operates largely out of the Alola Region but before she was in Sinnoh on account of Darkrai and Cresselia

[killing-your-favorite-characters]

I just got to the scene in Explorers that inspired my post saying that Chatot was badly written. And now that I have it on my mind, I am extremely angry about it. Like, I wasn’t even reading the dialogue, but just knowing that’s what was written still made me mad.

Anyways, have a nice rant under the cut.

So the scene in question is the one where you and your partner are trying to convince the guild that, hey, Dusknoir is a bad guy and Grovyle’s the good guy and you need the Guild’s help to prevent the planet’s paralysis. And the thing that really makes me angry during this scene is when, after you’re done talking, Chatot refuses to believe that Dusknoir’s a villain. Now, I understand why this was put there story wise. Mostly just to help establish that Wigglytuff is bad*ss. But, it makes absolutely no sense that Chatot is the one who doesn’t believe your story.

There are like, ten members of the Wigglytuff Guild. Anyone of them could’ve been chosen to disbelieve this story. Of course there are some where this would’ve made no sense, like Sunflora or Bidoof. There are two I can think of that easily could’ve been given this dialogue instead.

The first is Loudred. Loudred has been shown to not really believe in the player and partner. (Such as when he remarks that it would make more sense for the player and partner to not recognize a pokemon’s footprint than Diglett, or when you absolutely fail the sentry duty mini game. I did that once (embarrassingly not on purpose) and I highly recommend doing it. It’s pretty easy, and if you still want to get items and poke for the day you can always just reset. I advise doing this on a sentry duty day after the tutorial. The tutorial’s really long and kind of unnecessary so don’t put yourself through the pain of having to sit through it more times than you need to.)

The other person is Corphish. Corphish is basically this game’s Bunnelby. He doesn’t really add anything to the story in the slightest, and if you took him out there wouldn’t really be any consequence. So giving Corphish this dialogue would actually make him a better character. (I feel like Dugtrio might also work, but I dunno. Loudred and Corphish were the first two that came to mind.)

Anyways, this is supposed to be about why I think Chatot was probably the worst person to have not believe the player and partner’s story so I’m gonna get back to that.

The reason why I think Chatot not believing in this story is an example of bad writing, is that when you compare it to some of the main things he does in the it makes absolutely no sense. And, funnily enough, the first example I have can also be used to explain a part in a story where Chatot is really well written. (But I’ve already gotten distracted enough.)

The first example is Bidoof’s Wish. After Snover asked Bidoof to explore Star Cave with him, Bidoof went down to ask Chatot for a day off. When he claimed his stomach hurt, and that’s why he wanted a day off Chatot was very suspicious. And for good reason as later on in Bidoof’s Wish it turned out that Snover was actually the leader of a gang of bandits and he had lured Bidoof to Star CAve in order to steal his money. But, before they could do so the entire guild entered and fought off the bandits.

After the battle it was revealed the reason why the guild was there in the first place, was because Chatot was so concerned with Bidoof’s behavior that he talked the Guildmaster (and the guild) into going after him. And just to have it sink in, I shall repeat. Chatot was so concerned by Bidoof’s behavior he decided to follow him to make sure he was okay.

Now, there are two more examples. And surprise, surprise, they both happen in Brine Cave. (I think about Brine Cave WAY too much.)

So when you reach the halfway point in Brine Cave, Team Skull come in and steal the partner’s relic fragment. And while they’re gloating they mention that they were the ones that made the player and partner’s attempt into getting perfect apples fail. And they then proceeded to run off. And after they ran off, Chatot was so furious that he took off after them. Alone. In a cave that he almost died in years before. Despite the fact that Wigglytuff, his best friend and partner, who he respected greatly, told him to stay with the Player and Partner.

And the last point is that, y’know. He almost died saving the Player and Partner from an attack. And that he had done the same think years ago with Wigglytuff.

So, if Chatot did all of these things, why the HELL wouldn’t he believe that Dusknoir, the guy who literally kidnapped the player and partner right in front of their eyes, before anyone could fight back, was a bad guy. He was so quick to change his mind about Team Skull, and yet he basically had to be forced into believing Dusknoir sucked?

I call bullshit.

[jumpchain-drop]

Chapter 2.15: 4.47 Years

Year 5, day 172: It worked.

I finally managed to induce a Dimensional Scream through the instruments. Not entirely sure how yet, so it’s not fully controllable, but I managed to see it.

A tambourine, to the north.

In preparation, I arranged a meeting with Chatot and got something we were long overdue: a Wonder Map, a map that magically plotted itself. I had no intention of having everyone rely solely on my memory in a foreign continent.

We set out tomorrow.

Year 5, day 173: It took a while to convince Lapras to take us so far away from land. She only agreed once we put together a makeshift raft to hold Terra the whole way. The entire team came along; I posted with the Guild that we’d be completely unavailable for the foreseeable future, the Icy Flute was secured in my warehouse with the door firmly locked, and the Treasure Bag was filled with all the supplies and Poké we could carry. I brought along the Aqua-Monica in order to help keep Manaphy calm. They and Azumarill swam alongside us most of the way, though they sometimes climbed aboard Terra’s raft when they got tired.

As part of the legend of the Hidden Land that lead to Temporal Tower, Lapras had the worldly knowledge to know of other continents, and was willing to share some with us. Several years ago, the Air Continent, as our destination was known, was beset by multiple natural disasters, resulting in the Pokémon bonding together into rescue teams to save themselves and others, centered in the town of Pokémon Square. The rescue teams were rather ad hoc and there wasn’t the centralization of anything like Wigglytuff’s Guild, which would explain why that’s the name the town had. There was some kind of league that kept track of ranking, but that was the extent. While the cause of the disasters was eventually resolved, the rescue teams remained, as the work of heroes was never done.

Lapras said the Square sat near a cliff on the edge of a bay, so we couldn’t go there directly. She took us around the area and pointed it out to us, though, so the Wonder Map could record its location. Then we hugged the coast until we could find a shore low enough to disembark from. She agreed to wait for us, since it wasn’t like there was a lot going on in the Hidden Land anyways.

The journey took most of the day, so we’ve made camp. I’ve snugged up to Terra, and Manaphy settled themselves in the nook where we met. Makes mentally dictating this slightly difficult- wait, how am I writing this?

Year 5, day 174: We’ve reached Pokémon Square. It’s a quaint town, with little in the way of housing. It mostly seems to serve as a community hub for the rescue team operations.

There wasn’t anything like the guild archives. Since rescue teams were focused on helping Pokémon in trouble and not learning about the world around them, they didn’t keep detailed records of ancient places, historic landmarks, or anything of the sort. There was even an abandoned power plant – like, a human-built power plant – within a day’s round trip of the Square and no one knew anything about where it came from, only that it’s where some Pokémon that were on standby for rescue teams lived. Having lived four years and change around history buffs and treasure hunters, I was actually mildly infuriated by their lack of care. I guess it was understandable, given their past situation, but it felt like they were letting the grains of time fall away through their fingers.

But it didn’t take too long to find a lead, surprisingly. When we asked locals about ancient legends, we were directed to Wishcash, who lived in the pond on the north side of town. He was said to be one of the wisest Pokémon in the world.

This evening, I went to speak with him alone; I didn’t want to burden the others with my responsibility. He was certainly friendly enough, a sort of kindly old man. And he had a lot of history in his head.

I showed him the Aqua-Monica. To my pleasure, he clearly recognized it, but his voice grew colder.

“You seek the eighteen Treasures.”

“I do.”

“To what end? Why would you break the seals?”

“Because...” I didn’t know what to say, and eventually settled with being close to honest. “Because I can.”

“Because you can? Merely that?”

“Well… no.” Telling him the world was going to freeze in time and I wanted to save treasure from it ending seemed like it would only lead to more questions. How could I put this...? “In a few years, I will have to leave on a journey, from which I won’t likely return. Only a couple teammates will be able to come with me. It will be long and hard, and who knows how perilous it would be. Having these Treasures, as much of them as I can, by my side greatly eases that fear, the same way a well-stocked pantry eases fear of hunger.”

He was silent for some time before he said, “Let me tell you a story.”

I nodded, curious, and sat down to listen.

“Long ago, so long that only gods live today that were there, so long that the five continents were closer together, humans and Pokémon both existed in this world. However, there was no harmony between them. Cooperation always seemed mere inches away, but was never reached, and there were many conflicts, with many lives lost on both sides.

“Young mages – humans knowledgeable in the ways of Pokémon – sought to create a harmony. They spent years crafting eighteen musical instruments, patterned in visions, and imbued them with the power of true elements. The music they played could soothe the hearts of Pokémon that resonated with those elements. As you might guess, these are the eighteen Treasures.

“The instruments worked because they had been crafted with truest intent – to bridge the gaps between human and Pokémon by making Pokémon more receptive to humans, to not blindly attack them and to judge them on individual merit. They used them to make friends with Pokémon and spread the harmony they wanted to create.

“But that all changed when bad humans with evil intentions saw the instruments not as a means of stopping the fights, but winning them. They slew the mages and took the Treasures, and abused their power over Pokémon’s hearts to twist them into servitude, turning them into mere tools by which to achieve power. With this power, they crafted nations.

“Naturally, it wasn’t long before these evil humans started trying to gain power over each other, fighting over territory and the Treasures. Armies were created, and war broke out. A war that engulfed the entire world. It raged for years, and many innocent lives that had done no wrong perished in the battles. By the time it burned itself out, humans were a dying race; too many had been lost.

“What were left, however, were good and kind, and horrified by the war and its aftermath. They beseeched the gods to hide the Treasures that started this, for they were capable of too great an evil to be trusted in mortal hands. So the gods spirited the Treasures away, hid them, sealed them in magical treasure chests, and had their mortal avatars, the Legendary Pokémon, guard them. Only those with the strength of heart to resist a repeat of the tragedy would be able to even get a glimpse.

And so they remained, the knowledge of them passing into myth as the last of the humans died out and left a world of only Pokémon. They remained… until you sought the truth of the legend.”

I found myself crying. This world’s history was tragic. Humans and Pokémon never managed to build the relations they had in the other Pokémon world, or at least not nearly as widespread, and the results were so dark. I looked at the instrument in my claws. To think its history would be so bloodied.

“I am more than familiar with human hearts in Pokémon bodies, young Sandslash,” he said. “I think only a human would consider releasing the seal on these instruments of war. However… I do not think you are one that would play such songs on them. If you were, you would not hesitate to use the one you have to sway me to reveal the location of the others. Tell me, how do you use your Treasure?”

“How… T-There’s a very young Water-type on my team.” I was stuttering through my tears. “The music helps them to sleep.”

“A humble use. One a kind Pokémon would perform. This continent was not always too focused on the present to recall the far past. If the answers you seek lie anywhere in Pokémon Square, they will be in the sealed basement room of the Makuhita Dojo across town from here. Tell them you have my blessing.”

“T… Thank you, Wishcash. I promise, I won’t allow that war to happen again.” This world deserved to go out smiling.

He bade me good evening, and I returned to the others. A rescue team base just outside town offered to lodge us for our stay in the Square.

I was right. This world was indeed better off without these Treasures.

[pmd-heroxpartner-central]

Because of You Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Desperation

Sorry this took so long kept forgetting to upload it :P

Chloe was shocked beyond belief.

“Excuse me?!”

Chimchar didn't seem to hear her. He was obviously in too much shock.

“Dad wh...What are you doing here?!” He cried.

“I was about to ask you the same thing!” Infernape scowled.

Chimchar backed off a little.

“I…I’m part of an exploration team now, and there’s nothing you can do about it!” He declared in a determined voice.

Chloe looked confused, what was this all about? She decided to try and get some answers.

“Erm excuse me, but I don’t quite understand. What does Chimchar mean by…?”

But before Chloe could finish, Infernape gave her a dangerous look.

“You stay out of this!”

Chloe immediately backed off, Chimchar wasn't amused at all.

“Hey! You can’t talk to my friend like that!”

“And what did I say about conversing let alone making friends with non-fire types?!” growled Infernape.

Chimchar shrank down to the ground, Chloe looked even more shocked than before.

Only allowed to make friends with fire types? How unfair is that? She thought.

Infernape then roughly grabbed the Relic Fragment that his son always wore around his neck, making the poor Pokémon gag a little.

“I see you actually managed to find this piece of junk,” he snarled

Chimchar just looked away.

“It’s not junk,” he muttered bitterly.

“You really are a stubborn child aren’t you?” said Infernape sternly. “I’ve specifically forbidden you to join an exploration team, and one day you weren’t in your room. I’ve looked everywhere, but recently I happen to overhear someone talking about a so called Team Firestorm, and they just happen to mention that a Chimchar with a scar was a member. I had a feeling it was you and it looks like I was right.”

Infernape let go of the Relic Fragment releasing Chimchar causing him to topple over.

“Do you know how long I’ve looked for you?!” he exclaimed.

Chimchar just glared.

“For what?” he asked icily. So you can keep blaming me for what happened?!”

Chloe was stunned, Where did that come from? She had never heard him speak like that before, not even to an outlaw. Chloe glared at Infernape.

“Excuse me, but what's going on here? Why has it taken you over a year to come looking in Treasure Town for him!?” she asked.

Infernape glared back and swatted Chloe away as if she was an annoying Combee.

“That is none of your concern!”

Chimchar hurried to Chloe's side.

“Are you okay, Chloe?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” said Chloe getting back on her feet. Her tail twitched in anger. How dare this Infernape harass her best friend like this. Infernape glared at Chimchar.

“And don’t you dare talk back to me like that! You know very well that if you hadn’t disobeyed us and….”

“SHUT UP!!!!!”

Chloe literally jumped away from Chimchar, startled by that sudden outburst. She studied Chimchar's face and saw a hurt look in his eyes he started clenching his fists. Chloe knew that what Infernape just said really got to him. She's never seen him like this. Normally Chimchar was a shy pokemon. He got more confident over the past year but still needed some coaxing now and again. A whimper from Chimchar snapped Chloe out of her thoughts.

“Don't you think I know....” he muttered. “Don't you think I know it was my fault!? I've lived with the guilt for eight years now! I don't need you to remind me!!!”

Chloe felt her heart break as she watched Chimchar desperately try to hold back his tears, but failing miserably.

“You just won't let me live it down!!! I won't let you make my life a misery anymore!”

Infernape scowled,

“Come on,” he said sternly. “We're going home.”

Infernape tried to take Chimchar's arm but he jumped back.

“Back off!”

Then Chimchar just ran off towards Treasure Town. Infernape sighed angrily and glared at Chloe.

“You see what you did?!”

“No, what did I do?!” exclaimed, Chloe. Infernape was getting on her very last nerve, and who ever knew Chloe can vouch that she hasn't got many to spare. Just then Chatot arrived at the scene, looking quite bewildered.

“Goodness gracious, what’s all this about? I was on my way to let you know of a Challenge Request, only to nearly get run over by a seemingly upset Chimchar.”

“Yeah, well you can thank Mr. Loud-mouth for that one.” said Chloe, “And for once I'm not talking about Loudred.”

Infernape glared at Chloe for that remark.

“Maybe you should explain what happened from the beginning,” suggested Chatot.

Chloe explained everything to Chatot, about Infernape, and about his “attitude”. Chatot nodded.

“Hmm, I see, then we have a bit of a predicament.”

“I am taking my son home! And you non fire types better not try and stop me!” boomed Infernape, making the other two pokemon jump.

Chatot hopped over to him.

“Now, now there’s no need to be rude. If you feel the need to take him home then we can’t stop you, but he seemed quite distressed when he dashed by me so at least let him have some time alone.”

Infernape scowled but nodded.

“Fine, we will leave in the morning, it's getting late anyway.”

With that he went on his way.

“Chatot there's gotta be something we can do!” asked Chloe feeling crestfallen by this.

Chatot looked sympathetic.

“If Infernape is Chimchar’s father then he still has authority over him, I'm sorry.”

“But it took Infernape at least a year to come here looking for him!” cried Chloe. “What kind of father is that!? I may not remember my parents, but I'm certain they wouldn't have given up!”

Chatot sighed.

“I can't imagine how you must be feeling Chloe, but Chimchar is still young. In fact if I was in charge of the guild instead of Guildmaster Wigglytuff I would have asked for proof of parent's consent if applicants were around your age. But you know what the Guildmaster's like: accepting anyone who comes through the door. I only go along with it because he's the one who has the final say. Even if Chimchar's father came while you were still in the Guild, even Wigglytuff would've had to meet his demands.”

Chloe sighed sadly,

“That doesn't make it right.”

“Well needless to say I don't think you two will be able to do that Challenge Request right now so I'll just let Aggron know that he'll have to come back another time. I'll be sure to explain the situation to him.”

Chloe nodded.

“Thanks, Chatot.”

Later Chloe went in search for Chimchar, who had not returned yet which worried her. Chloe had a good idea where he could be so she headed for the beach, and sure enough Chimchar was sitting on the sand, watching the Krabby blow bubbles, but not even that seemed to be cheering him up right now. This worried Chloe even more because this scene always brought a smile to her partner’s face. Chloe felt sorry for Chimchar. It was obvious from the look of his eyes that he had been crying.

Chloe slowly walked up to the little pokemon. Chimchar glanced up.

“Leave me alone,” He moaned.

Chloe felt a little hurt by this but tried put her paw on his shoulder for comfort.

“Chimchar,...”

“I said go away!” shouted Chimchar, slapping Chloe's paw away. The outburst scared away some of the Krabby.

Chloe stepped back then glared, her tail twitching

“Fine, Let your dad take you home see if I care!”

Chloe stormed off back to Sharpedo Bluff. Once inside, Chloe kicked over the treasure Bag in frustration, causing it's contents to spill out. One item caught Chloe's eye. It was the Red Silk she and Chimchar found in Midnight Forest. It reminded her of Chimchar as it had the power to boost fire-type moves. Chloe picked it up and stared at the crimson fabric. Sighing sadly, Chloe sat down on her straw bed.

“Oh man I really goofed this time. I was supposed to try and cheer Chimchar up but I probably just things worse.”

Chloe laid down and clutched the silk with her paws. She was usually very optimistic but it wasn't that easy right now. She was about to be separated from her partner and best friend because of some selfish, stubborn father. It wasn't fair. Chloe started feeling her eyelids grow heavy, but she didn't want to fall asleep until Chimchar came back. After a while however Chloe gave in and fell asleep.

KER-KLUNK!

Chloe woke up to a loud noise coming from just a few feet away. She groggily sat up and rubbed her eyes, muttering a curse to who or what ever woke her from her slumber. It was now really dark outside. Chloe gazed in the direction of the noise and was shocked to see Chimchar, Treasure Bag in hand as he was picking up a wonder orb that seemingly fell out of the Treasure Bag that the Chimp Pokemon already had over his shoulder.

“Chimchar,...what are you doing?” asked Chloe almost afraid to hear the answer.

Chimchar looked away, placing the orb back into the Treasure Bag where it belonged.

“I'm getting out of here,” he said simply.

This made Chloe sit bolt up right.

“What?!”

“I can't stay here. I can't let my dad take over my life again!” moaned Chimchar

“And where in the world do you plan on going?!” cried Chloe.

“Anywhere but here,” said Chimchar, making his way for the steps.

“So you were gonna leave just like that?!” yelled Chloe “Without me?!”

Chimchar turned to face Chloe.

“I didn't think you'd want to leave here just because of me.” he said sadly

“What?! Do you even know me at all?!” cried Chloe actually managing to get a chuckle in. She walked up to Chimchar. “But still...think about what you're about to do. You're gonna worry everyone if you just leave without saying anything. Come on, I thought I was meant to be the hasty one.”

“I don't have a choice,” groaned Chimchar.

“Don't give me that! Of course you have a choice. Look, if we just talk to you're dad tommorow...”

“There's no talking to him Chloe!” Chimchar cut off. “If I stay that's the end of our team! I don't want that and I'm sure you don't want that either!”

Chloe sighed.

Running away would also mean the end of our team!” yelled Chloe “So I fail to see your logic. Besides running away is not the answer. It's never the answer!”

“Yeah well it did good until he found me.” muttered Chimchar.

Chloe looked confused.

“What?”

The look on Chimchar's face told Chloe that he just let something slip. He then made a dash upstairs. Chloe sighed testily and ran up in pursuit.

“Chimchar get back here!” she called as if trying to reprimand a disobedient child.

Chloe made it up the steps to see Chimchar already nearly half way across Treasure Town.

“Chimchar, wait for me will ya!” Chloe yelled running as fast as she could to the retreating figure. She managed to grab Chimchar's arm just as they reached the watering hole.

“Let me go!!” He yelled.

“For crying out loud, Chimchar you're gonna wake everyone up,” Chloe growled. Then she released a sigh.

“Alright, fine If you're gonna be stubborn then go, but I'm coming with you.”

Chimchar gave Chloe a surprised look.

“But...”

“Buts are for sitting on.” Chloe cut off, folding her arms. “So, are we leaving or aren't we?”

Chimchar thought for a moment then nodded.

“Right, let's go.”

And the duo went down the path away from Treasure Town. Chloe could hardly believe she was doing this. But there was no way she was gonna let Chimchar go anywhere on his own. Chloe took one last look at their home town not knowing when or if she'll see it or any of it's inhabitants again.

“Chloe, you coming?!” Chimchar called breaking Chloe's train of thought.

“Yeah, I'm coming!” She called back and followed Chimchar to wherever they end up.

To Be Continued...

[fujii-draws]

Hi I just wanted to say that I love Ribbons and Aimilios so much, they're so cute and sweet!!!

May I make a humble request for Ribbons and Amilios fluff,,,

I must know these dweebs are happy and would love to hear how they eventually fell for eachother!!!

AAA!! I’ve thought about this ask so much. And I’m happy to finally deliver!!!

——————

Ironically enough, Ribbons and Aimilios didn’t start out as ‘great friends’ from the jump.

Unlike main game. After Aimilios convinces her to join Wigglytuff’s guild on a whim, their relationship is… well.

Firstly, Aimilios tends to get slightly annoyed by Ribbon’s lack of preparation. Laziness. And hasty behavior. Feeling like she isn’t taking his dream as seriously as he thought she would.

And Ribbons�� doesn’t like Aimilios for his stick-in-the-butt, teacher’s pet attitude. And how he never trusts her with things like the treasure bag/map. Constantly putting the load on himself, leaving her with nothing to do.

They still are on good terms! They do enjoy certain aspects of eachother! It’s just that they also dislike other aspects of their partner. Which; results in Ribbon’s teasing of the Riolu. (Playing ‘keep-away’, hiding certain items to get on his nerves.) Which was in good fun in hopes to lighten him up more. That isn’t to say it wasn’t mean-spirited at times.

And Aimilios in turn; rats on her whenever she becomes too troublesome to deal with. His clean-freak nature also causes him to misplace a lot of her items— (Which, Ribbons looked almost ready to bite Aimilios when her brown Patsy bow went missing.)(Until he told her where he put it, deciding to nip him another day.) And in-general their relationship starts on a rocky start. And why they fail so many jobs in the beginning due to their lack of coordination and teamwork.

They like eachother enough to work together… but not to see eye-to-eye. Aimilios starts to wonder if asking Ribbons to join him was a mistake… and that her heroism at Beach Cave was a major fluke.

…until Drowzee kidnaps Azurill.

Aimilios was Frozen when confronted with the hypnosis Pokémon. An outlaw? And not only that— a Psychic type? The Riolu was nothing short of terrified. That is, until Ribbons piped up. Barking towards the criminal with not a single drop of fear in her voice. This, in turn give the Aura Pokémon the confidence to fight back aswell.

(…This is also When their first really positive interaction happens, Aimilios being the one to reciprocate Ribbons joking-tendency with a jab of his own. Stating how starving she must be for her stomach to growl like an Ursaring. Till his stomach does aswell, making both young Pokémon’s laugh.) (And later that night when they’re in their haybeds, he whispers how brave/cool she was today.)

(Which makes Ribbons face light up, before trying to play it off like ‘Yeah that’s cool.’ Until her tail betrays her—giving away how happy that compliment made her. Just from the sheer velocity alone.) (She tells Aimilios to shut up when he laughs at the endearing display.)

After that… they start to trust eachother a little more. Aimilios shares more items with her. Lets her lead more Job Requests, snitching on her less. Actually even aiding her in mischievous/morally questionable activities, like steal A/S Rank jobs.

Chatot is super strict about what Jobs they take as junior Explorers—Aimilios only agreeing because he wants to prove himself. He feels the rush of adrenaline when they escape the Guild with their newfound jobs, Ribbons patting him on the back and ‘welcoming him to the dark side’.

“If Chatot catches us, we’ll never hear the end of it.” The breathless riolu stated. Looking over to his partner, who had a toothy grin plastered on her face.

“Then we won’t get caught.” Ribbons responded with confidence. Playfully placing her paw on his snout.

“Cmooon—That birdbrain won’t know what hit him! As long as you don’t tattle!~”

“…You’re a horrible influence.” The Riolu huffed out, smiling despite his backhanded comment.

On the flip side, Ribbons stops stealing items away from the Aura Pokémon as much like she used to. (She’s still teasing the ballocks out of him. Only difference being that she knows when to stop when it actually starts to upset him.) (The Riolu is still sticking his tongue out in retribution to the Eevee’s crimes. >:<.) (She blows a raspberry back >:3)

And… they start to notice certain things they really like about the other.

Ribbons loves how intelligent Aimilios is. The reason she was so butthurt towards him the first time…was because she was jealous. He was clearly the brains of their little rag-tag duo. She still doesn’t know why Aimilios chose her as his partner. He could do so much better. She also adores how he’s able to be gutless and quick-witted despite his fears. In Ribbons eyes—That’s bravery. Not the dumb, ‘Fuck-it-we-Ball’ mentality she has.

Something else she likes but can’t wrap her head around with the type of Pokémon they meet, is his kindness. She doesn’t know how he does it. Or why he’s able to tolerate so many of their clients. Ribbons… also views that as another strength he had, but she lacked— Arcues knows how short-tempered the Eevee was. And certain Pokémon began to take advantage of Aimilios . Which makes Ribbons extremely protective of him—standing protectively infront of the riolu during fights despite her size. (Around this time; Team skull.) She hates those punks so much. Ohhh do they make her blood boil.

She feels her heart twisting into knots when she sees Aimilios lost all sparkle in his eye. Only dejectedly laying on his haybed with sunken pupils as he lost the opportunity to join the expedition. The Eevee secretly wishes him a goodnight, brushing his fur with her tounge. Before returning to her bed. Praying that he’ll get picked—even if it meant giving up her spot if she got in.

And Aimilios… hoo boy.

Much like in-game, he’s enamored by how fearless she is. How she’s able to speak her mind to the largest and strongest of Pokémon. (You should’ve seen his face when she insulted The Great Dusknoir straight to his face.) He draws a ton of strength from her. He wouldn’t even be accomplishing his dream if it wasn’t for her.

Something else he loves about her… is her jokes. She has some of the most cornball humor to grace the Grass-continents. You can hear the entire guild groaning whenever she makes one.

So imagine to Ribbon’s surprise when she turns to face her Riolu partner one day— covering his mouth with his paws with tears in his eyes. Trying so desperately not to laugh. (She makes it her mission to make his ass laugh and admit to her face that she’s funny.)(It’s an on-going gag even after evolution.) And overall just how infectious her silly, carefree attitude is.

(She’s also the reason why he stops being so much of a people-pleaser. Aimilios didn’t notice it at first, but squabbling and being frustrated with her at times in the beginning… it helped him grow a bit of a spine.)

And that’s when the seeds of their friendship and other feelings begin to sprout.

During their first Expedition with Bidoof, Ribbons sees first hand just how much Aimilios is growing— taking more of the lead and being in charge. Not because he doesn’t trust her— but because he’s gaining confidence for himself. (Her cheeks do not become tinted with pink when she witnesses this.)

And when Aimilios is mere moments away from fleeing from the Groudon-illusion. He sees Ribbons start to grin. Exclaiming how she’s been itching for a real fight. (Which also doesn’t make him fluster up like a Red Gummi. Nope. Natta.)(That’s his hubris-filled maniac and no one else’s.)

And… they mutually get flustered watching the Volbeat Geyser. Aimilios exclaiming just how beautiful it is while Ribbon’s eyes lock on him—Before she laying her head on his shoulder. Making the startled Riolu look her way. Before carefully closing the distance, wrapping his arm around her.

(The guild members absolutely tease those two mercilessly for that display when trecking back to the Guild, and a few more days afterwards.) (Aimilios covers his face in embarrassment while Ribbons tells them to screw off.)

After the expedition to Fogbound Lake— their teamwork and rapport improve drastically. Being able to take on a number of jobs like that hadn’t before. Thanks to their newfound coordination and ability to be on the same wavelength. Complimenting eachother on a job well done.

They do little gestures for eachother to show the other how much they care. (Aimilios helps organize her Treasure bag with permission. Studying Unown runes/Gatekeeping duty. Patching her up from bad jobs.) (Very adamant about the last one.) (Scolding her for barely taking care of herself. Not noticing her staring at him adoringly.)

While Ribbons tends to spare him from particularly mean jokes. Getting actively frustrated towards Pokémon who treat Aimilios slightly wrong. Grooming him with her tongue during nights at the Guild. (He’s so focused on guild work that he forgets to take care of himself.)

The flaws they once detested about the other become things they now love about one another.

Ribbon’s laziness evolves into her teaching Aimilios to relax. Aimilios’s judgmental views are now more worrisome things he notices; asking Ribbons to exercise caution whenever she takes a job alone.

Ribbons listens to the riolu go on and on about a certain book he’s reading with stars in his eyes, gazing softly towards the aura pup. Aimilios listens to all of her bad jokes, barely stifling his laughter around her.

Aimilios watching lovingly at her ability to make connections with other Pokémon effortlessly, even with how dumb she feels.(He wishes he wouldn’t call herself such things.) While Ribbons loves just how intellectual he is, not minding his trouble with looking Pokémon in the eye.

They enjoy eachothers company so much. Becoming nearly nigh inseparable. Going from two, squabbling kids. To being attached to the other’s hip. Substituting for their partner’s weaknesses with their strength. Almost in a Yin-Yang fashion. (Opposites attract afterall ;3)They become co-dependent. (Which is very much a flaw… but it’s the one they never grow out of.)

And After that…! Aimilios is the first one the catch feelings! Mainly bc Ribbons is denser than the Relic Fragment tied around the Aura Pokémon’s neck. Wondering if some divine intervention was punishing him. That and Ribbons just thought she saw Aimilios as a really good friend as the explanation for why she felt fuzzy around him. (I’m not joking.)(You underestimate her singular braincell.)

The aura pup goes to Dusknoir for advice. Trying to be as VAUGE as possible towards the ghost-type when referring to certain ‘Pokémon A’ that ‘Pokémon B’ (which is NOT Aimilios.) would like to get to know better.

Dusknoir immediately catches on, finding this literal case of ‘puppy love’ to be endearing. (And absolutely entertaining.)(He promises to not tell a soul, with Aimilios responding ‘I-I didn’t mean anything by it!! Why are you swearing secrecy on something totally not connected to me—!’)

Although Ribbons is oblivious— her watching Aimilios nearly get murdered by Grovyle made her feel upset. Really upset. Watching him barely breathe while Dusknoir carried the two of them… Ribbons with the last on her strength crawled over to him (Much to the wraith’s dismay, imploring her to not hurt herself.) …Before she curls into him, sniffling a little.

No one else but Dusknoir is able to detach the tearful Eevee from her partner. The cloaked specter only having done so to make sure the Riolu was healed and patched up properly. (That didn’t stop the Eevee from crying out for her partner in her sleep.)(…The ghost-type gently brings the Riolu to her haybed—Ribbons immediately curling into and purring.)

And then they’re dragged into the Paralyzed future. Where their friendship is heavily tested.

The two don’t say anything at first, but hold slight resentment towards one another, mainly towards Ribbons not using her D.Scream, and Aimilios not using his aura sensing/sharing so much information with that damned ghost.

So when looking at the stockade lights, an argument breaks out. Just a screaming match between two terrified kids that want nothing more than to escape the hell they’ve been forced into.

They go back and forth, back and forth on who’s to blame. Until Aimilios’s angry screams slowly transform into uncontrollable sobs. Telling Ribbons that she was right and it was his fault. Ribbon’s heart nearly shatters as she watches Aimilios fall to the ground holding himself.

She immediately rushes to now, sobbing riolu. Telling Aimilios that she was being stupid and she only snapped in anger— begging for him to stop crying. Because if he does, then sh-she’ll…

She pulls him into a hug. Aimilios clings onto her like his life depended on it— with the Eevee embracing her partner so tightly. Muttering apologies like a broken record. The scene goes about the same, the only other change being how Ribbons looks back towards the way they ran from. Staring at the abyss-like cavern in fear of the ghost-type pursuing them. (She shakes it off. She can’t afford to be scared. She has to be strong. For him.)

So Ribbons continues to protect Aimilios during their run from the revenant they trusted. Constantly picking him up, getting infront of him to take hits during dungeons, etc. and it helps Aimilios… continuing to draw strength from his partner. (Even when he’s begging her to stop nearly getting herself maimed in the dungeon. Which falls on deaf ears; Both Pokémon exchanging somewhat bitter glances.)

So how hilarious is it when Aimilios watches Ribbon’s back away in fear for the first time. Being completely frozen just like the time in the future. Unable to retort anything Dusknoir said. Being reduced to tears. Her ears pinning back as her pupils dilated to cat-slits. Breathing heavily as the open clearing spun from vertigo.

Oh how hysterical! Oh how simply entertaining it was to the ghost-type!!

But Aimilios wasn’t laughing.

Not one bit.

He gets infront of his now, trembling Eevee partner; angrily baring his fangs about how they weren’t Dusknoir’s puppets— before yelling loud enough that his scream emenanted an aura. An Aura large enough that made Dusknoir flinch, and even Primal Dialga react—squinting annoyedly towards the pup.

(If Aimilios took a quick glimpse from behind—he would’ve seen a glossy-eyed Eevee, staring up at him in complete awe.)

That same night when they returned to the present— Ribbon’s had a nightmare about Dusknoir. Waking up in a cold sweat as a voice called out so desperately for her. She opens her eyes, only to be greeted with a very worried-looking Riolu.

She takes a moment to process why Aimilios looked so worried, before it all came back to her, every horrible word she spouted towards her precious partner. And how he was still trying to see if she was okay after everything she said. Ribbons cries her heart out—Aimilios now being the one to hold his tearful partner.

When she’s finally shed her tears… the Riolu offers to let her sleep in his haybed for the night. Ribbons hesitates, before nodding silently. Not wanting to use her voice in fear of blubbering again.

Sharing the haybed was a good idea from the way Ribbon’s clung to Aimilios— almost immediately sleeping in the comfort and safety of her partner’s arms. While Aimilios is looking at her… it hits him all at once. How small she is. How fragile she is. Even with how brave the sleeping fox was. He saw her terrified for the first time.

Just how many times did she help him? How many nights had Ribbons listened to him. Comforted him. Gave him confidence. And exactly how many times did he repay the favor…?

This epiphany only makes the Riolu hold onto the frail Eevee even tighter.

Ribbons senses this change when she feels Aimilios is the one starting to take as many hits and she does for him. Confidently asking to lead the party at times as to make the load easier on her. And… it nearly clicks. Ribbons nearly figures out her weird, fuzzy emotions. But keeps suppressing them; save the world first— then weird butterflies in tummy!

And it’s When Ribbons is disappearing— it’s in that moment she finally realizes her feelings towards the aura pup. But…

Rather than making the grand gesture of revealing how she truly felt— she bites her tongue. Hard. Was she really going to make her goodbye even harder on Aimilios? After what she pulled? After lying to him?

…even after she returns. She never tells him. In Ribbons eye’s? She lost her opportunity the second she hurt Aimilios. So much. with her stupid sacrifice. With her stupid words towards the stressed pup in the future. Not feeling worthy of being anything more with the Riolu out of guilt.

(That, plus Future Trio returning adds a bunch more to their plate before they can figure it out.)

Speaking of Which, they act as wing-Pokémon for the two, the three older mons almost playing a game of Cupid with Ribbons and Aimilios. (With Ribbons gaining help from the two grass-types, and Aimilios from the ghost.)(Those three see how much those two are holding back from one another and by the legends they are going to help these kids.)

It takes an absurd amount of time. But…

Ironically enough? The one who’s braver enough to take the first step… is Aimilios.

He asks Ribbons to walk with him towards the Beach, the same one where their journey began. Aimilios also no-so-subtly waited to make his confession when the Krabby blew bubbles. (Ribbons stares at him knowingly and smugly.)(He tells her to ‘B-be quiet—!’ and listen to what he has to say.)

And it’s just… the most corniest love confession. Everything about it. The setting. The bubbles… it’s so overly cheesy and sentimental. Just like Aimilios.

And Ribbons feels her smile faltering more and more when he goes on— before she starts crying unexpectedly. Aimilios asks what’s wrong— hoping for them to be happy tears rather than sad ones. And unfortunately; It’s the latter.

Ribbons tells Aimilios to not waste his time on her. To find someone better—someone who won’t hurt him. She spills her guts about why she was so hesitant to confess for so long.

“…You’re afraid.”

“E-eh..?! I-I mean…” Ribbons looks away, her tail coyly rubbing the side of her shoulder. “I guess…”

“T-then don’t be..!” The Riolu declared— hovering his fists infront of his chest. “I-I want you to be brave..! Be—“

“The bravest ever.” It was astonishing how the two Pokémon read eachother’s mind— finishing the sentence Aimilios begun in unison.

After that I have a little animatic idea in the tune of ‘Best Worst Mistake’ with those two. Which near the end of it… ends with the Aura Pokémon picking up Ribbons and spinning her— to then connect foreheads.

Only for a cyan light to wrap around the two Pokémon… what emerges from it, being a Sylveon and Lucario.

Seeing themselves evolve at the same time… they laugh with tears in their eyes. Ribbons tackles the hell out of Aimilios as their limbs are entangled on the same beach they met. Tails wildly wagging as they embrace eachother. Not minding the sand getting stuck to their fur.

…Future Trio is witnessing all of this happen in real time. With Celebi nearly chuckling as she watches the grass and ghost-types be on the verge of tears.

The two Pokémon go to the trio hours later— telling them how it’s official. Grovyle puts his hands in the Sylveon’s shoulder’s—kneeling as he exclaims just how proud he is. On the other side of the bluff— Dusknoir is telling Aimilios the same thing— cupping the Lucario’s face in near tears. Bellowing out just how far the Lucario has come. (Ribbons and Aimilios Are NOT choked up by their gestures. They both have leftover sand in their eyes. That’s why they’re crying.)

Their relationship is still relatively the same. Ribbons being the same, playful and gutsy girl she is. Playing harmless pranks on her partner. Being overly protective of him, etc. While Aimilios remains the clever pup that he is. Letting Ribbons gnaw on him arm whenever she gets bite-y, keeping track of their shared items. Cleaning her matted tail and adding Garcedia flowers from Shaymin peak… That isn’t to say that their relationship is perfect— still finding themselves hitting bumps along the road and arguing. The main difference being that they’re more mature— and aren’t kids anymore. (It’s us vs the problem, not me vs you) type growth. (Even if it takes awhile to get there with the Lucario’s self-loathing issues.)

That being said, Ribbons loves PDA w/ Aimilios. Even when the poor Lucario flusters. (She stops when he’s about to turn as red as a Cherri Berry.)(That isn’t to say he’s being spared when they return to the bluff >:3)

Yet ironically enough, whenever they’re behind closed doors; it’s the reverse with Aimilios flustering her right back. He’s been able to do so at the start of Post-Game—The only difference being that he’s gotten much more consistent in finding the Sylveon’s weak points. (Ribbons hates him for it.)(How dare he use her own powers against her. She isn’t supposed to be the blubbering mess.)

(Also they begin to share their haybed in the beginning of post-game—Constantly waking the other up to protect them from their nightmare lest they have one.)(They never separated it since.)(…Well okay maybe ONE TIME but THATS FOR ANOTHER DAY >:3)

[Tl;dr: They squabble and get annoyed by eachother. Before they become overly codependent/protective of the other. A silly, unkept, mischievous Eevee/Sylveon—with her stressed-out, lanky, goody-two shoes Riolu/Lucario partner.]

(+ some old art I never shared for y’all’s troubles)

[catflowerqueen]

How did Paula Evolve?

I’ve been thinking more about Hidden in Plain Sight and my post on why Paula’s evolution made the guild think she was older than she actually was, and I’ve realized that, given the way pichu usually evolve, coupled with all the barriers to evolution that pokemon would be facing at this point in the story… this might actually be a contributing factor to why Wigglytuff and Chatot are initially so worried about what Paula’s home life was like before she tells them about the lesser-known aspects of the Torterra Guild. 

Outside of the Mystery Dungeon games, pichu only evolve with high friendship. Given this restriction, one would assume that it would take a while for such friendships to form—possibly even years—so you wouldn’t really see pikachu as young as Paula is—or, at the very least, she would be right on the edge of it as far as relative ages go. This is even more true in my stories, where pokemon age at around the same rate as humans. The thing is, that’s not the method that pichu use in the Mystery Dungeon games—instead, it relies on IQ, which can be increased via eating gummis. While that makes sense as a game mechanic, it’s a little weird to rely solely on that for story purposes. So, in this case, it’s probably some mix of the two—knowledge and experience mixed with relationships. The thing is… normally it takes a pichu a lot longer to gain those things naturally—because while they would be getting the relationship boost from their parents since day one, retention of knowledge and memories doesn’t really happen until toddlerhood, and gaining the experience that evolution takes into account wouldn’t really start until the kid was old enough/big enough to fight or to start attending school/otherwise getting lessons. Paula, then, would be right on the outskirts of that—old enough to theoretically have some schooling, but young enough that no one would think that she’s ”graduated” to the minimal levels that one would normally see in a pikachu—especially one who is alone, considering that, due to the necessity of close relationships to evolve in the first place, most newly-evolved pikachu would still be around the family and friends who helped them reach evolution in the first place.

And as close as she is to Laura, they know that she can’t be the one whose relationship helped Paula reach evolution, since not only did they both admit that they met each other basically hours before joining the guild (not to mention that the rest of the guild had already figured this out for themselves, given that Paula had made it up to the grate and then run away due to fear/nervousness many times before she actually joined), but places like Luminous Spring had stopped working a while before any of the other negative effects of time stopping showed up. Now, we don’t know exactly how long that was, but it was definitely long enough that people noticed—meaning that Paula would have been even younger when she evolved, and definitely longer than the bare minimum age for the normal occurrence that she is now. Especially when you consider Paula’s personality and general confidence issues before meeting Laura. The only time you would see it happening younger… is if something had gone really, really wrong.

Now, if the requirement was just general knowledge, or even fighting skills, that would be one thing. Considering everything the two managed to do, it wouldn’t be wrong to consider them prodigies—and we already know from the Igglybuff special episode that baby pokemon can be incredibly strong. So even though Laura and Paula are obviously not at the level Wigglytuff was back then, it would be easy to assume something similar was going on, and that Paula had just managed to find an evolution location earlier than Wigglytuff did (although we don’t actually know how long he stayed an igglybuff or jigglypuff). And they already know that Paula is smart and well-studied, considering that she knows how to read footprint runes. The issue, then, becomes the relationship aspect. For a pichu to reach that point that young, and then to (at least seemingly, since it is entirely possible that Paula was writing letters or something without their knowledge… event though I’ve already established that she wasn’t, since her parents and brother didn’t know she’d graduated before Ricky came to get her for the reunion and she hadn’t heard anything about Felix since right before leaving home, as she was eager to swap stories with him) not be around the person whose relationship helped her… then either something traumatic happened to make her lose them (with the implication being that it was the process of losing them which strengthened the bonds enough to the point that counted despite the shortened timespan), or the relationship involved… let’s just say, the sort of thing that Igglybuff’s parents thought was going on when they heard about their son hanging out with an outlaw, or the sort of thing that Drowzee was doing before being reformed, only to a greater and even more sinister degree. The sort of thing that creates a very false/wrong sort of bond that only counts because the pichu in question is too young to know any better/different.

Now, this isn’t to say that it’s impossible for a good sort of relationship bond to form in a short period of time—something like, say, an intense summer camp experience could do the same thing. It’s just a lot rarer, and typically still involves something extremely intense happening to cement the bond, which can still cause its own scars. (Or such as finding an amnesiac, former human on the beach, fighting through a cave with them in order to get back a sentimental object, and then agreeing to form a team with them both to help them out and to fulfill your own dreams). The point being, while it is, technically, possible for a pichu to attain evolution at a young age using the usual, healthy methods… its still really rare, and throws up a bunch of red flags that Wigglytuff and Chatot would definitely notice upon getting the chance to sit down and breathe after hearing Paula’s true age—such as during their journey back to the guild.

And the thing is… while they’re definitely on the wrong track as far as Paula having any sort of tragic past goes… they’re not wrong in thinking that she’s way too young to have attained the necessary condition for a normal pichu evolution considering that she didn’t actually evolve in the normal way. Her method of evolution was actually closer to what happened with Dusknoir and Grovyle—although she doesn’t quite realize it yet, and may not for some time. It’s actually part of why she was so confused about the fact that you could evolve at Luminous Spring. Considering that she is a pikachu, let’s all just agree that her—and other pikachu Partners of other Players—confusion and lack of knowledge about evolution even being a thing was just an in-game thing as a way to explain the mechanic. Her actual confusion in my stories just came from the fact that she was unaware of the usual method of evolution, since what happened to her was outside the norm.

See… given the normal progression of evolution in the raichu-line, parents don’t typically tell their kids about evolution until they’re a little older, likely after they’ve made a few close friends, or seen others evolve when they couldn’t, due to their specific requirements. Even then, many just stop at the pikachu stage, since you need an item to go further and those can often be expensive/hard to find unless you know an explorer. But given the age gap between Paula and Ricky, she probably wasn’t as curious or concerned about his evolution into a pikachu as she might have been otherwise, simply assuming that it was just something that happened to older kids. And since she seemed to struggle a little bit making friends outside of her cousin Felix (though, that was partially due to her being far more serious about her interest in exploring that most other kids, and, therefore, spending a lot more time studying than they wanted to put up with), her parents knew—or, rather, thought—that she would be a late bloomer.

But then… she had a little adventure of her own, and by her own… and found the Relic Fragment. And part of the reason she considers it her treasure—the main reason, really—is because right after she found it… she evolved into the pikachu she is today. (Given that, though… I suppose, in a sense, she did meet the typical requirements after all. She was already well on her way in terms of general knowledge, and the Relic Fragment is the cause of an extremely close bond… it’s just that it happened a bit out of chronological order. Though, given what the fragment is a key to… I guess it’s not really all that surprising that it wouldn’t take the typical progression of time into account.)

Now, considering that she was, in fact, close to her cousin Felix, and often went on little explorations, her sudden evolution may have been a surprise to her parents/the other adults around her, but it wouldn’t have been too shocking—they would have just figured that she was closer to her cousin than the initially thought and that she’d accidentally stumbled upon the usual location people from their area used when evolving. She may have gotten a light scolding about wandering too far away, but that’s about it. They may or may not have even bothered to explain what usually happens when pichu evolve—and I’m leaning towards a no, considering her confusion at Luminous Spring and the way I can use her lack of knowledge to mildly baffle Wigglytuff and Chatot after they clear up the misconceptions about any unpleasantness in her past—and the only explanation she got about how to attain the raichu stage was that it required an item in addition to the “usual method”—which they assumed she knew, since they assumed she had evolved normally. But really, she didn’t/wouldn’t/won’t figure it out until after her graduation, when a certain hushed conversation between her parents about” how glad they were that they had saved up and given Ricky that evolution item when they did, and that—despite their initial worries about him rushing into the decision—he had used it to evolve immediately afterwards considering that another cousin had tried to evolve yesterday but could not, despite definitely meeting the requirements, and that hopefully the issue would be fixed by the time they had saved up again to buy another one or one of their kids found one during an exploration for Paula to use,” will suddenly make a lot more sense.